A Timeless Adventure
by K. C. Trexler
Summary: When the newest mecha bot uses the Timestones to change history, Sonic and his new friends are thrown into an alternate timeline where evil has all but won.
1. Chapter 1

All offical characters are copyrighted by their respective owners. Cody Griffor, Lily Griffor, Angel Starfire, Saber, Drake the chao, and Comet the chao are copyrighted by me. Slasher and Leviathan, as well as the chao transformation concept, are copyrighted by NetRaptor, used with permission.

**Author's Note:** This fanfiction has been one that has taken me many years to complete, and as such I hope that you all find my time and effort worth it while reading. I would also like to personally thank my friend and fellow Sonic fanfiction author NetRaptor. You were my inspiration for starting this fanfiction, as well as the one person that stuck by me through all my struggles as I worked to complete this story. You are a very good friend and for that I am grateful that I met you all those years ago.

**Author's Note 2:** This story takes place roughly 3 months after the events of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles video game. I will update this story about twice a week on average. Also, any helpful feedback would be most appreciated whether it is good or bad. Thank you and enjoy!

**A Timeless Adventure**

**Chapter 1**

The sun began to rise over the northern mountain ranges of Mobius, casting their shadows across the valleys in between them. Serenity was something that most of the northern area of Mobius hadn't seen in many years, but in the valleys of this particular mountain range, peace and serenity was something that was seen almost every day. As the sun rose slightly higher in the morning hours, a loud screech-like cry could be heard from the biggest valley in the range, known as Veloci Valley. Several birds flew up and away from the valley, fleeing from the cry. Suddenly, a second, lower pitched cry could be heard coming from the valley.

Down in the valley, two rather large figures circled one another. Both looked similar in stature, one being only slightly taller than the other. Both of them circled around the valley floor, watching each other with their keen eyes. Suddenly, the shorter of the two lunged forward, the taller one moving back just in time to avoid getting bitten by the smaller figure.

"Nice try, but not good enough. There is nothing to be gained by attacking with all your might if you don't save some strength for when you needed it most," said the taller figure in a female voice. The shorter figure straightened up.

"That is your opinion," said the shorter figure in a male voice, lunging forward, this time with its hind legs. The taller figure cringed as one of the six-inch, dagger like claws on the shorter figure's foot slashed into her left leg. She then shrank back away from the shorter figure, but still kept a calm demeanor even as she retreated.

"You think fighting with all your power at once is the only answer, but you are wrong. I will defend myself if you attack me again that way. Let that be your one and only warning," said the taller figure.

"You'll be eating your words after I win!" cried the shorter figure as he leaped into the air, claws outstretched on his hind legs. But before he could land a blow, the taller one suddenly spread a pair of golden wings from right behind her shoulder blades and flew back out of the way of the attack. She then flew up high into the air, letting out a screech-like cry. She then dove back down and body slammed the shorter figure, kicking up a small cloud of dust. When the dust settled, the taller figure stood atop the shorter one, who was pinned to the ground.

"You have lost Saber," said the taller figure, looking down at him. By now, the morning sun was just now rising high enough that the valley was being filled with its light. As the light chased away the shadows of the night, they revealed the two combatants. Both of them were reptilian looking creatures. The pinned one had glaring yellow eyes. He had a tan underside, but a brown backside that made dozens of line-like patterns on his tan coloring as it trailed down his sides. The standing one had soft emerald eyes. She also was tan in color, with dark brown stripes marking her body. Both of them were easy to identify with the single six-inch long claw on either hind leg. They were both velociraptors. But there was one main thing that separated the two of them, and that was the pair of golden wings the taller one possessed. The winged raptor let the other raptor up to its feet.

"How'd you do that Slasher?" asked Saber as he stood back up.

"I was able to do that because, unlike you, I balance my power and defensive abilities to the situation. You, on the other hand, use all your strength to attack. An opponent that realizes that can take advantage just like I did," said Slasher, folding her wings back against her body. Saber sighed as he looked up at the rising sun. He had been at his training for almost a year now, but he was still struggling to handle even the most basic of fighting skills. Sure, he had learned much, but it was still nowhere near what he'd need to know to survive outside the valley. He then cringed as he looked down at the cut he had given Slasher, which was bleeding slightly.

"Did I hurt you bad?" asked Saber. Slasher looked at the cut, then shook her head.

"Not really. It'll be fine in a day or two," said Slasher. She then looked up at Saber with a smile. "Actually, that's the first time you've been able to land a blow that's actually hurt me before. I have to admit, you are getting better at this." Saber smiled slightly at the compliment. Slasher noticed this, and was about to say something else, but decided against it. The young raptor could use a little bit of praise without her spouting off that he still had a long way to go.

"So does that mean I'm ready for the next part of my training?" asked Saber as the two friends turned to head back into the caves that honeycombed the whole area.

"Not by a long shot," said Slasher.

"But I know I'm ready!" cried Saber, stopping and giving Slasher a glare that he would never dare give her had they still been training.

"Until I can see that you're ready, you're not going to advance to the tougher stages of training. You may be my best friend, but that doesn't mean that I will bend the rules for you," said Slasher, glaring back at Saber with just as much intensity.

"Just let me prove myself! I know I can do this!" said Saber, gritting his teeth in anger. The young raptor had a short fuse and it was usually triggered by arguments such as this. Slasher, on the other hand, wasn't one to normally get angry. But having to put up with Saber's short fuse day after day was really starting to get to her.

"Look Saber. I am the teacher. You are the student. You will follow the training schedule I set. Is that clear?" asked Slasher, her voice starting to hint towards anger. Saber lowered his head and gave a low growl. Slasher watched him tense up as if he was preparing to pounce, but she knew he wouldn't. To pounce her would mean instant retaliation on her part, and Saber knew that in an all-out fight with Slasher he wouldn't stand a chance. Saber finally sighed and loosened his stance.

"Yes," he whispered, just audible. He then looked up and made an about-face.

"Where are you going?" asked Slasher, wondering what Saber was up to now.

"I'm just going to go run for a while. It'll calm me down," said Saber. Slasher wasn't surprised. Saber ran a lot as it was. He was the second fastest raptor in the valley, seconded only by her. He'd run for fun, exercise, and just to relieve stress all the time.

"Okay. Just don't be too long," said Slasher as she started back towards the entrance to the caves. Saber then took off, leaving Slasher behind as he went from zero to near sixty mph in less than ten seconds.

_You're way too trusting for your own good Slasher. And when I come back, you'll have to admit that you were wrong and I was right,_ thought Saber to himself as he headed up the side of one of the mountains, leaping from ledge to ledge until he reached the cave entrance that led into a tunnel that went straight through to world outside the safety of the Veloci Valley.

**************************

Three days later, a crimson robot was sitting at a table in what used to be the Mobotropolis Library. The building had seen better days, which was evident in the cracked walls and immense amount of dust that had accumulated over the years. The robot turned a page of the book it held in its hands, careful not to cut into the book with the two six-inch claws that jutted from top of each of its hands on the end of its long, flat arms. It also had five, triangular shaped tubes with vents on the tips flowing down the back of its head like dreadlocks, the three middle tubes containing a small thruster in them. On its back was an engine exhaust port and topping off its look was a white "V" mark on its chest.

The robot would come here often, gathering information. It had been created less than a month before by Snively as a temporary replacement for what had been referred to as its "younger brother" by the diminutive human. It still had not seen anything outside of the polluted city of Robotropolis yet, but it had been told that when it was ready for a confrontation with the Freedom Fighters, and especially Sonic, it would be allowed to roam on its own outside of the city. This made the robot irritable most of the time, and its attitude had become quite bitter very fast. In fact, Robotnik had made a comment to Snively in private that the crimson robot was becoming independent minded even faster than its predecessor had. The sound of the front door of the library opening caught the robot's attention. It glanced up at the door, the bright neon green pupils moving up from the bottom of the black background to see Snively standing there.

"What brings you here?" asked the robot, its voice having a deep male vocal range with hint of robotic origin, a little deeper sounding than his predecessor had. Snively caught the slightest hint of annoyance in the robot's voice, but paid it no mind.

"I'm just checking up on you. You really must like to read, seeing as you're here almost every day," said Snively as he walked up next to the robot. The robot regarded the four foot tall human coldly before returning his attention back to the book, which was one that contained facts about Earth's prehistoric dinosaurs.

"I don't _like_ to read," he said coldly, not taking his green pupils off the book. "I am simply expanding my knowledge. It's about the only thing I can do in this accursed prison of a city."

"I know you want to get out of Robotropolis, but until we are certain that you can handle a confrontation between you and the Freedom Fighters, you have to stay here," said Snively. The crimson robot then threw the book up in the air, startling Snively.

"That's all I ever hear! I'm not ready! I have to prove myself! I think you both just don't want me to leave this place," he cried angrily, raising his fist spikes first towards Snively's chest. He then let out a mechanical sigh and relaxed himself, walking over and picking up the book he had thrown.

"Well, your 'brother' is still in the beginning stages of repair. Until we can be sure that he can be completely rebuilt, your safety is quite a high priority. We can't risk losing you before knowing that he can be fixed," said Snively. The crimson robot looked up at Snively, his eyes narrowing. This was another thing that had heightened the robot's independent nature, as well as his anger, with his creator and the other rather large human he was programmed to obey. Though he despised being their little wind-up toy to boss around, he was angrier still with the fact that they saw him as only a mere fill-in until this other robot was repaired. This latest mention of his so-called "brother" was the last straw for him. The crimson robot gripped the book he was carrying with both of his hands and tore it in half, hardback cover and all, before stomping towards the library's exit.

"Take me to him! I want to see just who this '_brother'_ of mine is!" cried the robot angrily as he walked out of the library. Snively stood in stunned silence for a fraction of a second before following the crimson robot, the automatic door closing behind him.

****************************

"That's it. All the firewood's been cut and stored away," said Sonic as he walked into community hut where Knuckles, Sally, Tails, and a few of the other Freedom Fighters sat taking a break from the day's tasks. The winter months were drawing closer. In less than a month they would arrive and everyone was hard at work preparing the forest community for the harsh cold ahead. Cody, a hedgehog in his late twenties that had been roboticized roughly a year ago, was also helping out, but in a different way. As everyone else prepared Knothole for the winter months ahead, Cody was down south in Emerald City as a representative of the Knothole Freedom Fighters, trying to convince the human colonies there to join the fight against Robotnik. Up until recently, Emerald City had been a human only colony, fearing that after Robotnik attacked Mobotropolis others would follow his example and attack mobian populated areas. But there was no evidence that pointed to people hating mobians for any reason, and the mayor of Emerald City had proclaimed the place a mobian-friendly place as of last year.

The idea of roboticized mobians, or "Robians" as they were sometimes called, joining the community was still something they had a prejudice against, which was one of the reasons Cody had been the one sent to represent the Knothole Freedom Fighters, to show that robotic individuals were just the same as flesh and blood people. While he might have been roboticized using an upgraded version of the technology that granted him his combat skills and weapons, he was still a Robian nonetheless. Despite the so-called "advanced" roboticization technique, its fatal flaw of allowing the victim to retain their free will had ultimately doomed the project when Cody instantly turned on Robotnik and destroyed the machine, escaping with his wife Lily and eventually finding a home in Knothole. He then became a great asset in the hunt for the Chaos Emeralds, which had only ended a few months ago. They only had the blue Chaos Emerald now, the others having being scattered after the Death Egg incident. But the Super Emeralds, the miniatures of which Sonic usually kept in an invisible belt around his waist, had made up for the loss of the Chaos Emeralds.

"Good. At least the heat problem's taken care of," said Sally as Sonic sat down next to her.

"So what's next on the agenda?" asked Sonic.

"Well, we still need someone to check all the look-out posts to see if they are going to be able to withstand the weight of the snow. Why don't you go and do that, Tails? Anyone who can fly has a much easier time checking the holdings," said Sally. Tails gave a nod as he stood up and walked out of the hut. Sonic watched the ten year old fox leave, then put his feet up on the table.

"So Sal, where do we stand on food for the winter?" asked Sonic.

"As long as we can get the last of the crops harvested before the first frost of the year, we should be fine," said Sally.

"How about computer parts? Do we have enough?" asked Knuckles. The crimson echidna had come down from Floating Island via the teleporter he and Sally had installed near the outskirts of the village so that Knuckles could help out with the village's needs without leaving the island any longer than he had to, though he had become more lax with leaving his new friend Mighty in charge for longer periods of time which had resulted in him being around the village a lot more than he had been early on in his alliance with the village. Sally brought up an inventory list of all the spare computer parts they had with Nicole's holo projector.

"Actually, we could use a few more XP-Y6 chips. We've been burning up a lot of them lately," said Sally as she closed the hand-held computer.

"No problem, Sal. With Mecha gone, the city's been easy pickings every trip," said Sonic as he put his feet back on the floor. "Me and Knux can go and grab a few of those chips and be back before nightfall."

"Okay, but be careful. Just because Metal Sonic's gone, it doesn't mean you should take unnecessary risks like you have been," said Sally as Sonic and Knuckles stood up.

"Would I ever do that?" asked Sonic sarcastically before walking out of the hut. Sally glanced over at Knuckles.

"Yeah yeah. I know the drill. Keep an eye on him," said Knuckles as he grinned and shook his head, following after Sonic. As he caught up with him, Sonic gave him a glance.

"Let me guess. She gave you the old 'keep an eye on him' speech," said Sonic. Knuckles smiled and just nodded as Tails flew by overhead on his way to the next lookout post, blowing a very light breeze at them as he passed by.

"Well, let's get going," said Sonic as Knuckles gripped him from behind. Sonic then took off in the direction of Robotropolis, kicking up a cloud of dust in his wake.

***************************

"_This_ is my 'brother'?" asked the crimson robot, looking at the half completed metallic blue robot floating in a tank of clear orange liquid, then back at the short human. Snively had just led the robot into the room where mecha bot two, who was also known as Metal Sonic, was still in the beginning stages of repair. Even after free-falling from the Death Egg into the side of a mountain just a couple of months earlier, his outer shell was almost repaired. His two legs were attached to the lower torso, and the engine was almost complete inside his chest cavity. The head was a complete mess still, as only half of it had been reconstructed thus far.

Snively had actually been quite surprised that they were able to salvage as much of the mecha bot's original hull and circuitry as they had. Even though the more delicate parts would still need several months to repair, he was sure that they could get him up and running at one hundred percent again by the middle of spring. He had to give Robotnik credit for the craftsmanship he had put into Metal Sonic's design. He never did anything halfway when he put as many years behind a project as he had with the second in the line of the mecha bot series.

"Yes, he is. He was a superior fighter to most robots, and by far the fastest," said Snively as he watched the tank. The crimson robot returned his attention to the tank. "He had several run-ins with Sonic and the Freedom Fighters, each one a war in itself."

"And he was nearly destroyed permanently by simply overloading his systems with chaos energy that he himself allowed to enter his body?" asked the crimson robot.

"Yes. Quite a lack of logic on his part. He knew full well that his systems couldn't handle the power of even a single Chaos Emerald. Just touching an emerald would start to short out his systems. Trying to harness the power of the Master Emerald to undergo a similar transformation that Sonic undergoes when using the Chaos Emeralds completely fried all his systems within a minute. Still, he was programmed to kill Sonic. In his mind, using the Master Emerald's power to take on Hyper Sonic was the only option he could see left open to him to win," said Snively as he watched the machines begin work on re-attaching Metal Sonic's left arm. The crimson robot looked back at the mess of wires, parts, and limbs that made up what was repaired of his 'brother'.

"What a fool to be felled by such an illogical approach to a problem," said the crimson robot as he turned and walked out of the room. Snively watched him leave, then looked back at the half-repaired Metal Sonic. He then gave a sigh.

"He is right, you know. You became obsessed with killing Sonic every time you two met, so much so that at times you seemed to be willing to destroy yourself to win the hunt. You were very close this time to achieving the former without the latter," said Snively under his breath. Suddenly, the alarm klaxons began to go off, filling the room with their sounds and flashing red lights. The crimson robot ran back into the room. In the two weeks since his activation, he hadn't experienced an attack, so he was confused as to what was going on.

"What's that alarm for?" asked the crimson robot as he ran up in front of Snively.

"The Freedom Fighters have made an attempt to break into the city. They probably already made it past the perimeter defense like usual," he said with a hint of annoyance. "We have to get you out of here and to a safe place." He reached out and grabbed the crimson robot by arm and started to drag him out of the room. But suddenly, the crimson robot pulled his arm from Snively's grip.

"No! I won't sit by and watch as this chance to prove myself to both you and Robotnik once and for all passes me by!" cried the robot, his green pupils flaring with anger at Snively's trying to keep him away from the fight. He then ran out of the room through the opposite exit, the engines in his back and dreadlocks flaring to life as he shot from the room and outside. "Soon, Sonic and the Freedom Fighters will fear the name of Robo Knuckles!" he said under his voice.

****************************

"Which way now?" asked Sonic as he kept watch while Knuckles read the map Nicole had given them. Already, they had a run-in with a hover-unit and a team of six Swatbots, but they had managed to lose them…for now.

"That way. The factory's over there," said Knuckles, pointing towards a factory further down the street as he put the map back into the pack on his back.

"Right. Let's go," said Sonic as they ran towards the factory. But something was up, and Sonic knew it. For some odd reason, there didn't seem to be anything guarding the factory. Sonic suddenly stopped running as they came to the entrance to the factory. "Hold up. Something's not right." Knuckles stopped and looked back at Sonic.

"What do you mean?" he asked, unsure what Sonic was talking about.

"It's too easy. There aren't any guards around protecting the factory," said Sonic. Knuckles just shrugged.

"Must be our lucky day," he said. He then ran into the factory. Sonic looked around uneasily before walking in after him. Inside, the entire factory was almost completely dark, the power having been cut to the building. This nagged at the back of Sonic's mind. Sure, the city was still recovering its power system from their last attack about three weeks ago. The mission had taken out two of the three generators in the city, almost ensuring that Robotropolis wouldn't be running anywhere near the norm in terms of available power over the winter months, but the fact that a building this close to the one they had _not_ hit was screaming at him that something was wrong. He walked up next to Knuckles, who was busy sifting through microchips on the assembly line to find the ones they needed. He then pulled his hand from the container of chips, holding several of the ones they needed. "Got them." Sonic looked off to the left as he turned to follow Knuckles out of the building, his eyes widening at the sight they took in as he turned.

"Knux…I think you'd better take a look at this," whispered Sonic as he back up into the echidna's side. Knuckles turned to look over at whatever it was that had Sonic suddenly spooked, but not even he was ready for the sight he saw. Several Swatbots, nearly a dozen of them, were lying on their chests on the ground around the floor of the factory. Knuckles quickly took a flashlight from his pack, switching it on. He swept the small beam of light at the fallen Swatbots, the two mobians only now noticing the gaping slashes on the backs of almost half of them, wires sticking out of the holes in their armor. Flipping the others over, it seemed as though they had been attacked from the front, as several similar slashes were on the front of their bodies.

"What the heck happened to them?" asked Sonic. He then looked up at the crimson echidna, fear evident on his face. "They look like they were on the wrong end of one of my spindashes, but I know that can't be what did this to them." Knuckles shook his head, at a complete loss for a rational explanation. A small click of something solid against the metal floor behind them caught their attention. They both whipped their heads around, expecting to see someone or something behind them, but nothing greeted them except the machinery around them.

"Please tell me you didn't hear something just now," said Sonic.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," said Knuckles. Suddenly, a low growl sounded from the shadows of a giant piece of machinery. Both of them nervously looked over at the darkness, Knuckles turning the flashlight on the area the sound had emitted from. As the light chased away the shadows of that area of the factory, Sonic saw something move from within a different machine's shadow on the other side of the factory. He nudged Knuckles and pointed towards the new shadow. Knuckles swept the light towards the area Sonic had indicated, but neither of them saw anything.

"What do you think that is?" asked Sonic under his breath. A loud crash of something hitting the conveyor behind them caused them both to stiffen in fear. They both slowly turned around to come face to face with a pair of yellow, reptilian eyes. The two mobians both starred into the eyes as they felt a breath of hot air against their necks. Both of them let out a horrified cry as they turned and fled from whatever was perched on the conveyor belt, the thing letting out a loud feral screech before leaping off the belt and running after them. Sonic was the first one out of the building, Knuckles following close behind. A second screech could be heard from the factory as the thing emerged and gave chase.

"So now what?" cried Knuckles as he and Sonic ran for their lives. They still didn't have a clue what was chasing them, as the thing had been shrouded in shadows, but those yellow eyes and hot breath were enough to make them not even want to know what was chasing them.

"I have no clue!" cried Sonic. He then slowed down and let Knuckles catch up to him. He then held out his hand "Grab hold! We're going to leave whatever that thing is in the dust." Knuckles reached over and gripped Sonic's hand a split second before Sonic shot off, accelerating up to over five hundred miles per hour in less than five seconds. The thing chasing them watched as the distance between itself and the mobians started to increase rapidly. Knowing then that it wouldn't catch them, it slowed to a stop, exhausted.

"Now that's…what I call…fast food," panted Saber as he watched the cloud of dust the fast creature had created in its haste dissipate. He had ventured far from Veloci Valley to find the thing he would need to prove Slasher wrong. The spoils of a hunt that he himself had done alone. But exhaustion and hunger were beginning to take their toll. In fact, he hadn't eaten anything since he left. He had tried to hunt the few creatures that lived where he had been traveling, but he was used to hunting in a pack, not hunting solo. This last attempt at hunting had been even more embarrassing than any other up to that point. Never had prey outran him before. It had never occurred to him that something could be faster than him or Slasher. The two of them had outrun cheetahs on the open plains before. Then again, it was the first time he had tried to hunt mobians. This fact started to nag at his conscious. He knew that it was against the morals of the clan to hunt sentient creatures such as mobians or humans, but hunger had overridden his judgment, and now he was deeply regretting it, realizing that he would have committed murder by killing the two mobians. Saber sighed in both exhaustion and remorse as he stood there trying to decide what to do next. Unbeknownst to him, another person was watching him from a nearby rooftop.

"Accursed reptile," mumbled Robo Knuckles. "He just cost me my one chance to prove myself able to handle Sonic." Then a thought crossed his mind as he recalled the section about velociraptors he had read in the book from the library. The creature before him was one such creature, of this he was sure. The thing's profile was nearly a perfect match by the book's estimate on its size and shape, only off by about 2.9% accuracy. His advanced AI matrix, the very core of his being, began to process the information about the so-called "extinct" dinosaur he had read about.

The Velociraptor was supposed to be one of, if not the best, hunter of its time on prehistoric Earth. Feared by most of the herbivores, except the exceptionally giant ones like the Brachiosaurus, the Velociraptors were pack hunters, but could adjust for singular hunting if need be. They were possibly the smartest of all the dinosaurs, though no one could confirm this. However, Robo Knuckles was pretty sure that this statement was accurate since he had heard the creature actually speak perfect English, leaving him to wonder if their species had always been able to speak English and humans had picked it up from their kind, or if it was the other way around. Still, there was even the possibility that these particular raptors were indigenous to Mobius and could talk the same as the mobians could. The question puzzled him to no end.

He watched the reptile sag its shoulders, then start walking towards the north end of the city, breaking into a run after walking about a block. He thought about giving chase and trying to capture it for study, but decided against it. The thing was more than twice his size, plus the razor sharp sickle claws on its feet could shred him as badly as the Swatbots inside the factory. _Still_, he thought, _it is most interesting to know about the existence of a race of creatures long thought to be dead. _A smile worked its way on his face as the beginnings of an idea leaked into his processor. He ignited his engine and leapt from the building top, spreading his arms out like wings as he flew back towards the Command Center to give his proposal of his first ever plan to get rid of Sonic and the rest of the Freedom Fighters once and for all.

**********************************

"Are you sure you won't reconsider?" asked Cody as he stood near the door that led out of the mayor's office in Emerald City. Despite all the points that Cody had made to the mayor, he was still unmoved in his position to stay a neutral city in the war against Robotnik.

"I'm sure, Cody. Tell Princess Sally that I am terribly sorry I can't help her cause, but to have this city become a target of Robotnik's terrorizing could mean the end of the city and its people. I can't allow that to happen," said the mayor, a man in about his mid forties with slightly graying brown hair. He stood just a little taller than Cody if you didn't included the largest quill that stuck up on his head. The mechanical hedgehog let out a sigh.

"Okay. I'll relay the message. Thank you for your time Mr. Mayor," said Cody as he closed the door behind him. Cody walked out of the office, slightly frustrated with the whole situation. He had been here for the last three days, trying his best to convince the mayor to help out the cause of freeing Robotropolis from Robotnik. But he had not been able to even make the mayor consider doing it. As he walked down the street, he noticed something on a poster hanging outside of a rather large building. Normally, he wouldn't care about some advertisement, but there was something about it that caught his attention. In the middle of the poster were several pictures of a blue creature of the likes he had never seen before. It looked like a blob with an onion shaped head and small blobs for arms and legs. It also had a pair of small yellow wings on its back, and a weird little ball shaped thing that floated above its head. Cody stopped and took a second to read what the advertisement was saying about the creature.

**"Do you want the perfect companion? Then take home a chao today. Just come on down to the Chao Garden, located at the top floor of the luxury hotel Emerald's Glow. Take home one of our garden raised chao, or take a chao egg of your own home to raise from scratch. Only $499.99 (2000 Mobiums) for a garden raised chao, or $299.99 (1200 Mobiums) for a chao egg (raising manual included). Come on down and take home a friend today."**

_Now that's a good idea. I could use something to take my mind off the disappointment of not getting this city on our side, and this sound like just the ticket_, thought Cody as he started walking towards the Emerald's Glow hotel that was located near Emerald Coast, the city's beach-side area. It was a little steep for his budget, seeing as how Knothole had no real need of money outside of what they bought supplies with from the human colonies in the north when they couldn't claim them from one of Robotnik's factories, but right now it seemed like the right thing to purchase with the money he had brought with him for recreational purposes. He almost laughed as he walked down the street. _What recreation? I've been spending all my time in that office._

_******************************_

"And that's my idea. It is one that I believe will spell the end of Sonic and the other Freedom Fighters, as well as give you a weapon that will surely allow you to forever keep control of the northern area of this continent," said Robo Knuckles as he stood before Robotnik. Snively was present as well, mostly just there to be a listener, not to be an influence on the idea.

"An interesting idea you've come up with, Robo Knuckles," said Robotnik as he twirled his mustache between his index finger and thumb. "It is one that I will allow you to pursue, but I will judge the finished product of your idea. If it is acceptable, then it will be allowed to stay on under your command."

"Thank you doctor. You will not regret this," said Robo Knuckles, giving a small bow before he turned and walked from the control room. Snively looked over at Robotnik.

"You're not really letting him build this thing, are you?" asked Snively, surprised that Robotnik would allow such a new robot to undertake such a task. He himself had barely managed to get the approval to build a fourth mecha bot, seeing as how the last one had failed miserably even in its test run stages. Robotnik gave him a glare.

"I gave you the chance to create a mecha bot, and so far I am not all that impressed with him. However, he has never engaged in a single fight yet, so I have no real room to talk about my opinion on his design. Perhaps if he is successful with the task he has undertaken, he'll change my opinion about his abilities without even having to lift a finger in a fight," said Robotnik before he turned and left, leaving a speechless Snively behind, unsure whether to take the commentary as a compliment or as an insult.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Hey guys! I'm back!" called Cody's voice the next day just before he entered the community hut where Sonic, Knuckles, Sally, and Tails were seated at one of the tables, Nicole displaying a silhouette of some reptilian creature with her hologram projector. Everyone looked over to see that Cody was not alone as his wife Lily, a beautiful magenta-furred hedgehog with sky blue eyes and long brown hair that flowed down to about the middle of her back, walked in behind him. She was wearing a light blue tank top with cut off denim shorts which was more or less her usual wardrobe. But what caught their attention was the thing in her arms. A small blue creature with an onion-shaped head and blobs for arms and legs looked over at Cody questioningly, then looked back at Sonic and the others. "It's okay. They're friends," said Cody, reassuring the small creature.

"What is that thing?" asked Sonic as everyone gathered around to get a good look at the creature.

"It's called a chao. I got this little one while I was in Emerald City. I was there to get a garden raised one, but the lady that was running the egg hatching area suggested I take this little guy's egg since it was about to hatch. So I bought it," said Cody. The little chao stared up at Cody, then gave a small squeak before snuggling against Lily's body.

"The little guy just hatched yesterday, so he's still very young. It'll take at least four months before he's fully grown. Then he'll be able to talk in words instead of squeaks," said Lily as she looked down at the tiny creature with a smile.

"He's really squishy feeling," said Tails as he touched the chao on the chest. The chao giggled slightly at Tails' touch. He then yawned and closed his eyes, falling asleep instantly in Lily's arms.

"He'll get more firm as he grows. But there was something that really caught my attention in the raising manual I got along with him. Apparently, as chao grow during their baby stage, they'll take on certain characteristics according to how their egg was hatched. This chao's egg was hatched by heating it in a greenhouse with a total sunroof, so he's considered to be a heat-type chao," said Cody, trying to keep his voice down.

"What kind of characteristics will he take on?" asked Sally softly. Cody motioned to Lily, who walked to the other side of the room so that the others could talk without fear of waking him up.

"I'm not sure. But the manual says that after a chao reaches its adult stage of life, the only things that will drastically change them are the Chaos Emeralds. It says that even a single emerald will cause a significant change in their appearance and abilities," said Cody.

"Hey Knux, why would the Chaos Emeralds change a creature like that?" asked Sonic, puzzled as to how the emeralds could change such a small creature like a chao.

"I'm not sure," admitted Knuckles. "I've never even heard of a chao before today, so I don't know how they could be connected to the emeralds."

"Who knows," said Tails as he shrugged his shoulders. "Anything else we should know about the little guy?" Cody opened the manual and skimmed through the rest of it.

"Well, not really. Just some eating habits and some other small facts about chao that the manual talks about," said Cody as he read the last page of the manual. He then looked over at where Lily was holding the sleeping chao. "Another thing about the chao is that they imprint the first person they see in their minds. He saw me first right after he hatched on the way home, so he sees me as sort of a parent figure. But taking care of him will give me something to do during the winter months."

"Well, congratulations Cody. I'll have to find you a cigar and start calling you dad from now on," joked Sonic.

"Only if I get to call you Sonie," said Cody in an evil voice. Sonic shuddered at the thought of always going by that name.

"I'll pass, thank you," said Sonic. Everyone had a good laugh as they gathered back around the table where Nicole was still displaying the picture of a reptile on her projector. The creature walked on all fours, thick spikes jutting from the tip of its tail to the creature's forehead.

"So what exactly are you guys looking up anyway?" asked Cody, indicating the hologram with his head. Sonic and Knuckles gave each other a glance before Sonic answered him.

"Yesterday, we ran a mission to Robotropolis to get some microchips. But right after we found them, something attacked and then chased Knux and me from the building. We didn't get a good look at the thing, but we saw his shape, as well as a pair of eerie yellow eyes, like those of a cat," said Sonic.

"Whoa. Sounds like this thing gave you two quite a scare. Do you think it was a new mecha bot?" asked Cody, concerned that Robotnik might have replaced Metal Sonic with a new robot.

"Couldn't have been. It breathed on us," said Knuckles, shuddering as he recalled the feeling of the hot breath on his neck.

"Breathed on you? Do you think it was a mobian?" asked Cody, confused. Sonic shook his head.

"Doubtful. I don't know of any reptilian mobian that is that big...at least not a normal one," said Sonic.

"We've been running searches on all current reptile life forms that are known to exist on Mobius, but so far we've come up empty," said Sally as she took Nicole off the table. "Do you have any ideas?" Cody lowered his head in thought, his pupils going out as if he had closed his eyes. About a minute later, they flashed back on and he raised his head.

"Do you think it might be something from Earth?" asked Cody.

"I never thought of that. Humans did import a ton of animals from Earth when they settled here originally. That might be the answer," said Sally. "Nicole, run search for Earth based reptiles of indicated size and shape." Nicole beeped a few times before she projected an image on the table.

"That's it!" cried Sonic, instantly recognizing the silhouette as the shape of the creature they had seen in the shadows. "What is it?" Nicole, responding to Sonic's question, began to beep as she read the information on her hard drive.

_"Species, dinosaur. Sub-species, Velociraptor. A carnivorous reptile that existed during the prehistoric years of Earth's existence. An exceptionally gifted predator, raptors were known for hunting in packs. Known for their ability to run up to speeds of 70 miles per hour out in the open; they are considered by many people to be the fastest creature of its time. A Velociraptor's main form of attack and defense is a six-inch curved claw on each hind leg, capable of cutting deep wounds in prey and enemies. No other information available," _said Nicole.

"How can that be what you guys saw?" asked Cody in confusion. "Nicole said that they existed back in the prehistoric era of Earth, and I know I've read that all the dinosaurs perished in some way over sixty-five million years ago in books that originated from Earth."

"Maybe Earth's information is off. Perhaps some of the dinosaurs somehow made it to Mobius before the others died," suggested Tails.

"I doubt that," said Sally as she closed Nicole, the hologram disappearing. "Dinosaurs living on Mobius for millions of years without anyone knowing about it would be highly unlikely."

"But not impossible," said Knuckles. "I mean, Floating Island isn't exactly the most normal thing out there. Same goes for all the emeralds."

"But the likelihood of a raptor showing itself after all this time is even less than that of getting struck by lightning several times on the same day," said Cody.

"I know what I saw, and what I saw was one of those raptors. Nothing else could have cut such big gashes in Swatbot armor," said Sonic, raising his voice enough to cause the sleeping chao to wake up crying. Cody gave Sonic a stern look before standing and taking the chao back from his wife. He then glanced back at Sonic with a hint of annoyance before walking out of the hut, trying to soothe the chao's crying.

"Even I believe the chances of a raptor being what attacked us are greater than anything else I can think of," said Knuckles as he watched Cody leave. He then returned his attention to the group. "But I agree with Sonic. Whatever it was that attacked us was either a living velociraptor or a very realistic hoax made by Robotnik to frighten us. Whatever the case may be, we had better be ready for either of the possibilities."

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Two days later in the early morning, an exhausted and famished Saber walked into the main cave system that honeycombed the Veloci Valley's mountain range. After walking for about five minutes, he came into one of the main chambers of the cave system, in which probably a dozen huts that looked similar to the ones in Knothole Village were strung about. Several raptors that were going about their daily business stopped what they were doing to look at Saber, who hung his head at the scornful glances many of them were giving him. But the full guilt didn't hit him until he walked into his own hut, only to find Slasher waiting for him. And Saber instantly saw that she wasn't happy at all.

"So…You came back," said Slasher, not even bothering to hide her anger like she usually did. Saber's head lowered even more, if that was even possible at this point, and merely gave a slight nod. "You really screwed up this time." Saber flinched at the stab Slasher had just given him. He knew that she only said those kinds of things when she was at the peak of her anger with someone.

"I'm sorry…," said Saber. He turned sideways for a couple of seconds, trying to decide to leave or to stay. Figuring the latter would be the better in this situation, he turned back towards Slasher, his head still lowered. "I know I messed up. I messed up more than I ever have. I thought I could do the next stage of my training without help, but I couldn't. You were right. I'm not ready for advanced training yet. I don't even deserve to be trained by you." Slasher, taking in what Saber had just said, studied his face for several agonizing seconds before walking over to him and raising his head with her hand.

"You are forgiven," said Slasher. Saber looked at Slasher, totally confused as to why she would do that.

"Why?" he asked. "I don't deserve to be forgiven."

"But you do," said Slasher. "You admitted that you messed up, and that you were wrong. What's more important is that you truthfully admitted these things. Believe it or not, that is a big part of the training. To understand one's own limitations and to admit when they make mistakes."

"But I disobeyed you and left without letting anyone know where I was going," said Saber, still not understanding what Slasher meant.

"That may be, but you have proven that you learned something from this experience, which is something that I could never teach you," said Slasher. Saber brightened slightly, even smiling a little. But he suddenly lost his smile as he saw Slasher half close her eyes and give him a big smirk. "But don't think that means that you won't be punished for running off. Now you and I will train for the next two weeks on fundamentals, and nothing but fundamentals." Saber groaned, knowing that meant he'd be doing things that only the youngest in-training raptors would be doing. "Now let's get some food and water into you, and then you'd better get a good rest, because we're going to be running night fundamentals first."

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"Thank you for coming on such short notice," said Robo Knuckles as he led Robotnik and Snively down the hallway of the lab that Robotnik had lent to Robo Knuckles to use for his project almost a month ago. "I know I said that it would take a few more days for the final version to be finished, but I managed to finish ahead of schedule."

"Quite all right," said Robotnik as the trio stopped in front of a viewing mirror, one where they could see in the room, but the occupants could not. The room on the other side was one that Robotnik knew well. It was a training ground where he trained some of his earliest Swatbots to combat Sonic almost ten years ago. Robo Knuckles, saying that his project would need a much more challenging test to prove itself, had modified the room a bit.

"Now then. Don't be scared by his size or how vicious he looks. He is programmed to obey both my commands and yours," said Robo Knuckles.

"Well, where is it?" asked Robotnik, trying to see the thing. Robo Knuckles picked a remote from off of a nearby table and walked back to the two waiting guests.

"You will see him shortly enough. Just watch," said Robo Knuckles as he flipped a few switches. Suddenly, laser cannons, harpoon guns, and various other weapons appeared out of the walls. Both Robotnik and Snively watched for almost a minute, then suddenly saw something move at the back of the room. The weapons obviously did too as they swung around to fire at the thing.

_There is no way this thing will survive that kind of firepower. The only person I know who can avoid that many weapons at once is Sonic, _thought Robotnik to himself as he saw the guns swing again to track the thing inside the room. Suddenly, Robotnik saw something flash by one of the laser cannons, sparks flying from the cannon as it was severed from the wall. The other weapons swiftly turned towards the thing that had destroyed the cannon, each one firing at the now empty space, each one a clean miss. Another weapon further on down the line was destroyed as the creature slammed its tail into the emplacement. The weapons turned and fired again, and once again they were clean misses. One by one, the other weapons fell to the thing inside the room.

When the creature had destroyed nearly half the weapons, both Robotnik and Snively were speechless. Robo Knuckles noticed their surprise, and smiled to himself. The creature was apparently meeting expectations thus far. He noticed that perhaps his creation was even giving the doctor a small dose of fear. The overweight human was beginning to sweat as he watched the creature decimate the weapon emplacements at a rapid pace. Robo Knuckles suppressed the urge to smile outwardly. It would serve the human good to know that the mecha bot had as much control over the beast in the room as he did._ Now for the main event,_ he thought as he flipped a few more switches.

Suddenly, four flying orbs flew out of openings in the walls and started to hover around the creature. Robotnik and Snively both watched with interest as one of the orbs fired a laser at the creature in the room. The creature took the hit in his side, but looked to be standing its ground as though it hadn't even felt the blast. The second and third orbs then fired, the fourth following shortly after. The thing tried to dodge them, but two of the lasers struck home, one on the thing's long tail, the other on the side of its head. The blasts were more powerful this time, and the creature reacted to the hits, both its tail and head jerking to the side from the force of the blasts. It then tried to strike at the orbs with its jaws, but they flew out of its reach.

"So this thing does have its limitations," said Robotnik, watching the thing back into a corner as the orbs moved in. Robo Knuckles saw he had quite noticeably calmed down after seeing this. He was no longer sweating, and his breathing seemed to be controlled once again.

"He may seem to, but his AI matrix is even more complex than my own. He can take a situation, analyze it, and come up with a solution in minutes, sometimes even mere seconds depending on the situation. And it would take me five times as long to come up with the same solution," said Robo Knuckles. Robotnik turned his attention back to the creature. It seemed to not be moving any more. The orbs moved in slowly, being cautious. But that caution was thrown to the wind as the creature suddenly snapped its head upright and caught one of the orbs in its jaws. With one powerful chomp, it smashed the orb into scrap.

The other three orbs backed off, firing their lasers. But the creature leaped above the blasts, and swung its tail at the orbs, catching one of them as it tried to flee from its attacker. The orb bounced off one of the walls, and then slammed into another of the retreating orbs, both exploding. The last orb, following what Robo Knuckles had programmed it to do when the other three orbs were taken out, flew right into the left side of the creature and exploded. The creature slumped to the ground, the explosion having damaged the servos in its left leg and blowing a good portion of its coverings off, revealing the creature to be a robot on the inside.

"Looks like you ultimate weapon isn't so great after all," said Robotnik as the creature's blood red eyes winked out.

"Just watch," said Robo Knuckles. Nothing happened for a couple of seconds as both Robotnik and Snively watched, their curiosity turning into amazement as the leg's damaged parts started to repair themselves, welding back together. After the servos were repaired, the "skin" of the robot started to repair itself, folding over and covering the robotic parts again. After only two minutes, the leg was "healed". The robot's eyes then winked back on as Robo Knuckles took a microphone off the side of the remote.

"Well done. You may exit the room now," said Robo Knuckles. The robot nodded its head, then walked over to the door and opened it with its clawed hands. It then walked into the hallway, towering over everyone else. Robotnik and Snively looked up at the seven-foot tall, twenty-foot long robot. It had black skin and an orange underbelly. Its head and upper jaw were one piece, the teeth built right into the face. The lower jaw closed into it like scissor blades. Its shoulders, back, flanks, thighs and tail were gleaming silver metal. The tip of its tail was barbed with six-inch spikes, the toe-claws on its hind feet were twice the size they should have been. It had three clawed fingers and an opposable thumb at the end of each hand, and around its neck was a collar with a green gemstone set in the lower center section of the collar. Robotnik and Snively had thought that this weapon would be more robotic in appearance and not really resemble what it was supposed to be, but the realistic look it had gave no question as for which creature it was designed after. A pure-breed velociraptor.

"How may I be of service?" asked the robotic raptor, kneeling clumsily to the floor in front of Robotnik. In fact, Robotnik was kind of glad to see it be a little clumsy at something. It showed that even a robot as powerful and advanced as this still had a few flaws in it. But the voice that the raptor had used was flawless. It had no trace of robotic origin whatsoever as it spoke in a deep, fluid male voice.

"First off, what is your call sign and name?" asked Robotnik. The raptor stood back up.

"My call sign is mecha bot five. My name is Leviathan," said the raptor, his glowing red eyes glued to the ceiling above.

"Leviathan?" asked Robotnik, turning to look back at Robo Knuckles, who in turn gave a shrug.

"Leviathan is a transliterated Hebrew word meaning 'twisted' or 'coiled' from Earth's Holy Scripture. The word has represented many things, including a dragon, which according Earth's Eastern culture, is an enemy of the light. The word has also referred to several of the large creatures that inhabit the oceans, specifically that of a giant sea serpent said to wield immense power," said Robo Knuckles as he recalled the information he had obtained on the word and its meaning. He then smiled slightly before continuing. "Though these are correct usages of the word according to the scripture, I prefer the figurative use of the word, which means 'cruel enemy'." Robotnik raised an eyebrow in thought at what the robot had said, but shrugged as if he didn't care.

"Is he combat ready?" asked Robotnik, looking back at the raptor, who kept his gaze on the ceiling.

"Against the Freedom Fighters? No. Besides, it would be in our best interests to have him master his skills before he is let loose outside of this lab," said Robo Knuckles. "We don't want Sonic or the others discovering him before the time is right."

"Then begin working with him immediately. I want him ready as soon as possible," said Robotnik as he walked out of the hallway. Snively gave the raptor a quick once-over and then followed Robotnik, not having said a single word since the demonstration had begun.

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The next four months were ones of peace around Knothole. Missions weren't made against Robotropolis. It was more of a time to have fun than to fight. But what kept everyone's attention the most were the changes Cody's chao was going through. He had gone through his first stage of growth, his light blue color changing to a bright orange color. He had also started to grow three horns on his head; two on the sides of his head, and one on the back. Cody had decided to name him Drake, as his appearance had started to look kind of like that of a dragon in an old Earth folklore book he had borrowed from one of the other citizens.

Now it was a sunny, but still quite cold, February afternoon in Knothole. And it was a day that would bring with it two surprises, one of which would not be pleasant. Everyone was busy having fun, but especially Drake. The young chao loved to play more than anything else, but the snow was a problem for him. Since he was a heat-based chao, the cold would wear him out quickly, so playtime outside was limited due to this. But Drake still loved to play in the snow. Cody would help him out by making snowballs for him, and then leave Drake to throw them, with quite amazing strength for such a small creature, at passerby's, hitting one every now and then.

_Splat! _Sonic turned around just in time to get smacked in the face with a snowball compliments of Drake, who was laughing his head off at the site of Sonic being covered in snow. While the little chao still couldn't speak words yet, he wasn't hard to understand at all. Sonic smiled as he reached down and scooped up some snow of his own.

"You'll pay for that Drake!" he cried as he tossed the snowball at the chao. Drake ducked as the snowball just barely missed clipping his head. He then took another of his snowballs from the stock Cody had made for him and tossed it at Sonic, who dove to the ground to miss being hit with it.

"So you wanna play rough, huh?" said Sonic as he made a makeshift wall between himself and Drake. He then made another snowball and threw it at Drake, watching as this one smacked the chao in the chest, knocking him down. But the chao just laughed harder as he picked himself up off the ground and reached for another snowball. Sonic ducked behind his wall as he prepared to avoid Drake's retaliation. A few seconds passed as Sonic waited for the cold feeling of the snowball hitting him, but nothing ever came at him. Puzzled, Sonic looked up from behind his wall to see something he didn't expect to see. Drake was sitting in the snow, his eyes closed. Sonic first thought that Drake had fallen asleep, but as he went to go pick up the small chao, his hands meet a barrier of sorts about half a foot before he could touch Drake.

"What in the world?" said Sonic to himself. Suddenly, a very thin, transparent barrier shaped like an onion began to appear around Drake. Sonic began to panic, seeing as how the small chao had never done anything remotely close to this before. He carefully picked up the chao by the barrier and then took off at a dead run for Cody's hut, arriving in less than ten seconds. Cody answered the door, just missing getting run down by Sonic as he ran inside and placed the barrier covered chao on the bed.

"What happened to him?" asked Cody as he ran over and snatched the raising manual from his night stand, flipping through it as fast as he could, trying figure out what was wrong with Drake.

"I don't know," said Sonic as he watched the barrier become less transparent as time went by. "We started to have a snowball fight, and I ducked behind my wall to avoid his next snowball, but he never threw it. When I looked up, he was like this." Cody flipped frantically through the small booklet, desperate to make sure his friend was okay. Then he spied the section regarding a chao's growth and gave a sigh.

"Oh thank goodness," said Cody as he relaxed, flopping onto his bed, the wooden boards under the springs nearly giving way to his weight. He frowned, making a note to replace them with something stronger next chance he got. He then noticed Sonic looking at him impatiently, waiting for an answer as to what Drake was doing. "It says here in the manual that Drake doing what he's doing is natural. Nothing's wrong with him." Sonic let out a sigh of his own as he returned his attention to the now almost solid barrier surrounding the orange chao.

"So what is he doing exactly?" asked Sonic.

"According to the manual, he's undergoing his final stage of growth. When he emerges from that cocoon he's in, he'll be fully-grown. He should be able to talk to us then," said Cody.

"How long will it take for him to come out of that thing?" asked Sonic. Cody looked back at the manual.

"It says that the transitional stage between child and adult usually lasts about an hour. When the transformation is complete, the shell around him will start to disappear," said Cody. He then looked back at Drake, who was now almost impossible to see inside the shell-like cocoon. "He'll be fine like this. The cocoon he's in helps to protect him from harm. It would have to be hit awfully hard to break it." Sonic stood up and walked towards the door.

"I'll go tell everyone what's going on. I'm sure they'd what to see Drake when he comes out of that shell," said Sonic. Cody nodded in agreement.

"I'll bet. I'll bring him by the community hut after he comes out of the cocoon," said Cody as Sonic walked out of the hut. He sat down next to the now solid cocoon that held his chao inside of it. Cody wondered what kind of changes his chao friend was undergoing inside his cocoon. Time went by quite fast for Cody as he checked the manual to see if there was anything else he needed to do for Drake when he emerged from the cocoon. In fact, he was so absorbed in reading the manual that he almost didn't see Drake's cocoon begin to fade as he finished his transformation. Cody tried his best to see into the cocoon, first noticing that Drake's color had gone from a bright orange to a dark crimson color, almost the exact same color as Knuckles' fur except a little darker.

_Man. He sure looks different,_ thought Cody to himself as he the cocoon turned even more transparent, revealing that Drake's horns had grown longer and pointy, looking almost like spikes on his head. He had also grown a pair of brown striped yellow horns slightly in front of his two main horns. He also sported a pair of green antennas on his head that drooped down in front of his eyes. His arms had become more defined, with visible hands on the end with three fingers. At the end of each of the fingers was a claw. Same went for his legs, which also were more defined and bared three claws on the ends of his feet. The last thing that Cody noticed different about Drake was that the small yellow feather wings on his back had changed into reptilian wings, like those of a bat or dragon. Cody watched with intent as the last of Drake's cocoon thinned out, then disappeared. The now fully-grown chao's eyes fluttered open, taking in his surroundings. He then noticed Cody watching him and jumped up to his feet.

"Oh Cody! I'm so glad to see you! I was so scared when I fell asleep for no reason! I thought I might never see you again!" cried Drake as he leapt into Cody's arms, cuddling up to Cody.

"Drake, do you notice anything different about yourself?" asked Cody.

"What do you mean? I feel just the same," said Drake, looking up at Cody.

"You mean you don't know what you just did?" asked Cody. Drake shook his head no, then noticed his reflection in a mirror on the other side of the room.

"Who's that?" asked Drake, looking up at Cody as he pointed towards his reflection. Cody couldn't help but laugh slightly at Drake's comment.

"That's you silly," said Cody. Drake looked back at the reflection. He then moved his left arm up and down, the reflection copying his movements. Drake then leapt from Cody's arms and ran over to the mirror.

"That's me!?" he asked as he flapped his wings, watching them in the mirror. Cody got up and walked over to the small chao.

"Yep. That's you all right. How about we go and show Sonic and the others your new look?" suggested Cody.

"Sure! I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they see me," said Drake as he flapped his wings and flew up next to Cody's head. He then giggled. "Boy! Flying is sure fun!" But as soon as he finished saying the sentence, he lost control and fell to the floor with a crash.

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"So Drake is going through his last stage of growth?" asked Knuckles. He had come down from the Floating Island after Sonic had given him a call about the chao undergoing the transformation. He wanted to see Drake as soon as he had reached the adult stage of his life. Knuckles had gone back to Floating Island for the winter, mainly to get out of the cold of the winter months, but also to look up everything he could about why the Chaos Emeralds caused a change in chao. He had come up empty handed in the search, but he still stayed on the island to help Mighty keep an eye on it.

"Yep. He should be just about done," said Sonic, looking at his watch. Just as he said this, Cody walked in the hut, Drake in his arms.

"Here he is! All grown up and ready for action," said Cody, holding up Drake for all the people in the hut to see.

"Hi!" cried Drake as he waved at everyone.

"Man, he sure has changed," said Sonic as he looked at the red chao.

"I sure have! I can fly now!" cried Drake as he leapt from Cody's arms to hover in front of him, his wings beating steadily, but still having a hard time keeping him level.

"I think we'd better work on the flying thing a little bit more Drake," said Cody. Drake dropped to the floor, exhausted from trying to fly for more than a few seconds. While he had figured out how to control his wings, they were still quite new and therefore tired very easily. He then smiled and looked up at Cody.

"I think you're right," said Drake.

"So now what happens to him now?" asked Tails as he walked over and picked him up, patting him on the head. Drake closed his eyes and then started to make a purring noise, which he had always done whenever someone had patted him on the head when he was a child.

"I'm not sure. The manual says that after they reach their adult stage of growth, a chao will usually decide what it will do with its life, though if a bond is shared with a person they will usually stay by that person's side till death," said Cody. Knuckles, while taking in everything Cody has said, was still trying to figure out what changes Drake would undergo when he came into contact with one of the Chaos Emeralds.

_Well, there's only one way to find out, _thought Knuckles to himself as he quietly exited the hut while everyone else was busy encouraging Drake as he tried to fly a little longer than his last attempt. As he walked towards Sonic's hut to retrieve the blue Chaos Emerald, he kept wondering what kind of change Drake would undergo from the emerald. Would he become bigger, stronger perhaps? Or maybe he would grow mentally, becoming smarter. Knuckles was so absorbed in his thinking, he didn't notice someone watching him from a nearby bush.

Knuckles reached Sonic's hut, and after looking through several drawers, found the emerald. As he left the hut, a chill coursed down his spine, and it wasn't from the cold. He quickly looked over his shoulder, but nothing except the snow covered paths and huts were there. Thinking it was all in his mind, he turned and began to walk back towards the community hut. Suddenly, a very low growl sounded from off to Knuckles left side. Knuckles froze, the growl he had just heard being almost the exact same as the one he had heard in the factory nearly little more than five months ago when he and Sonic had been attacked by what they had come to believe was a velociraptor.

He slowly looked towards the bush off to his left, but saw nothing. Suddenly, something tackled him from behind, knocking him off his feet and forward almost five feet before he landed on his stomach in the snow, knocking the wind out of him. Knuckles caught his breath, then flipped himself over just in time to see the thing pounce him. Letting out a scream, Knuckles began to try and break free from the pinned position the thing had him in. Back in the community hut, everyone had snapped their heads up at the scream. Sonic was the first one to recognize the scream as that of Knuckles. Bolting from the hut and down the path, he skidded to a stop at the sight he saw.

Knuckles was being pinned to the ground by a seven foot tall, twenty-foot long velociraptor. It had black skin and an orange underbelly. Its head and upper jaw were one piece, the teeth built right into the face. The lower jaw closed into it like scissor blades. Its shoulders, back, flanks, thighs and tail were gleaming silver metal. The tip of its tail was barbed with six-inch spikes; the toe-claws on its hind feet were twice as large as the one in Nicole's hologram. It had three fingers and an opposable thumb and its eyes were blood red lights.

Not wasting any time, Sonic shot forward, curling into a spindash. He slammed into the raptor full force, knocking it off Knuckles, who scrambled to get out of the way. Sonic landed and looked back at the raptor, seeing three small gashes running down the left side of its black and orange midsection. But instead of turning towards him, Sonic was surprised to see that it was just standing there, its head bowed, eyes having winked out as if it had gone to sleep. Sonic watched with amazement as the skin he had cut open with his spindash began repairing itself, folding over and fusing together. In less than ten seconds, the skin was 'healed'. The raptor's eyes winked back on, and it raised its head. Now its sights were set on Sonic. It slunk back, getting itself ready to spring forward and tackle Sonic to the ground. But before it could make the leap, a laser blast caught it in the shoulder, knocking its body slightly to the side and causing its metal covering to smolder from the heat. Both Sonic and the raptor turned to see Cody standing twenty feet away, the laser cannon built into his right arm aimed and ready to fire again, Drake by his side.

"Back off!" said Cody, his voice sounding more demanding rather than requesting. He watched the raptor as it turned towards him. Sonic took the raptor's lack of attention to try and spindash it again, but the raptor hadn't fully taken its attention off of him. It whipped its barbed tail around and hit Sonic with the midsection of it, batting him away like a baseball and knocking him into the trunk of a nearby tree, the blue hedgehog falling to the ground unconscious. It then turned all its attention on Cody, running forward. Cody fired two more shots, both hitting it squarely in the chest. While the blasts seemed to burn the thing's skin, it didn't seem to really hurt it. It then leaped up and tackled Cody to the ground, the two of them just avoiding crushing Drake underneath them.

The raptor raised back its left hind leg to slash Cody with his toe-claw, but Knuckles, back on his feet and fueled by an adrenaline rush, leaped onto the raptor's back, drawing its attention away from Cody. But the raptor simply gave its body a powerful flick, flinging Knuckles off its back while at the same time causing him to drop the blue emerald he had in his hands. The glowing jewel landed on the ground next to Drake's feet, who stared at the emerald for a second, then back up at the raptor pinning the person who had taken care of him since he had hatched. Drake picked up the emerald, and with an instinctive thought, bit down on the gem.

Cody tried to overpower the raptor, but even with his robotic strength he couldn't budge the huge, half ton creature as it pushed back at him with its own augmented strength to keep him pinned. Cody watched as the raptor raised its hind leg up to deliver a slash to his head. Cody cringed as he prepared for the blow. Suddenly, the raptor was knocked off Cody who quickly opened his eyes. He looked over towards where he had felt the raptor get pushed off him to see something that left him completely speechless. The raptor was now facing down a five-foot long red dragon with three spikes jutting from its head and several more circling its neck which pointed back, making it look like a mane. It also had a pair of brown stripped yellow horns, a pair of green antennas that drooped in front of its face, and a pair of wings with a wingspan of over six feet. It didn't walk on its hind legs like mobian dragons, but rather on all four.

"I won't let you hurt my friends," said the dragon in a familiar voice. Suddenly, Cody made the connection. _No way! That's Drake!_ his mind cried out, not believing what his eyes told him. The dragon lunged forward, tackling the raptor to the ground, who knocked Drake off with a shove from its hind legs. Drake was flung high into the air, but with his new wings, he easily came to a hover about ten yards above the raptor. Drake then took in a deep breath and let loose a blast of fire from his mouth. The raptor held up its arms to protect itself from the flames. Drake then let up on his attack as the raptor leapt to its feet and fled into the forest, its hide smoking as it retreated. Drake then huffed a breath of smoke before landing next to Cody, who was still in a state of shock.

"How was that? Did I do a good job?" asked Drake. Cody could only nod his head as Knuckles and a recently awakened Sonic stared in awe at the powerful dragon that had once been a small chao. "What was that thing?" asked the dragon chao as he looked off in the direction that the raptor had fled.

"That, my friend, was a velociraptor," said Cody, not really believing what he had just said, but knowing it was true. Knuckles, seeing something on the ground, bent down to pick it up.

"Well, it's not a real raptor, or at least not a completely real one," said Knuckles as he looked at the object in his hand.

"How can you tell?" asked Sonic. Knuckles turned and held up a ball of snow that had a black liquid soaked into it.

"Because living creatures don't bleed oil," said Knuckles.

*************************

Leviathan ran out of the forest, his teeth clenched together in anger. He was angry not only at the Freedom Fighters, but also with himself, and it was the thought of failure that fueled his rage ever greater as he continued running towards the north. He had been trained to kill them all, yet he had let a rogue dragon that shouldn't have been there scare him off. He narrowed his eyes as he slowed to a stop, looking back into the forest. He now knew where Knothole was, thanks to his sense of smell that he possessed. Tracking Sonic's scent had been easy, seeing as how even a faint wind could carry a scent for dozens of miles before it completely vanished even though by then it would normally be so diluted that no living creature could possibly pick it up. But that was one of the perks of being a robot.

He had to smirk slightly. Robo Knuckles hadn't done anything halfway with his design. He suddenly turned to the north again as a new scent flared in his nose. The smell was unlike anything he had encountered before, yet it seemed familiar to him. A grin slowly worked its way across the raptor's face as he recognized the scent as being almost the exact same as his own, as synthetic as his own scent was.

"Well well," said Leviathan, turning towards the north with a grin. "It appears I'm not the only raptor on this planet, robotic or otherwise." With that, he took off towards the north. He would worry about what Robotnik had to say when he came back. But as he ran, he suddenly had the thought of not reporting back in. He came to a stop after only running for about a half a mile, having come up with an idea so twisted after remembering about the properties of seven certain stones that even he was surprised at himself. He could make this "going rogue" idea work to his advantage greatly, but he would need help to pull it off. He then looked back at Robotropolis. _And I know exactly who to ask,_ he thought as he headed back to the polluted city.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Let me get this straight," said Robo Knuckles as he paced around in a circle inside an empty warehouse at the edge of Robotropolis. He then stopped and faced Leviathan, who stood there watching him pace back and forth. "You want to take over a colony of raptors to the north that your scent receptors picked up, and then use them to dethrone Robotnik and start your own campaign against the entire world?"

"Exactly. And with your help, it can be done. I just need for you to verify to the good doctor that I am spending my time as I should be without his knowledge of what we are planning to do," said Leviathan. Robo Knuckles then lowered the output of his pupils in a mock squint.

"What's in it for me?" he asked. Leviathan smiled on the inside. Everyone had their price, and he had spent most of his free time with the crimson robot during his training, watching him and taking notes on the things he would do and say. Sp it was of no surprise to him when Robo Knuckles asked this question to him.

"If my plan is successful, then I can make it so that mecha bot two will have never existed," said Leviathan. Robo Knuckles mouth curled into a grin, then he began to chuckle before he started laughing out loud.

"Now _that's _something worth while. You've got a deal," said Robo Knuckles.

****************************

A month later, things had calmed around Knothole down since the incident with Leviathan. The early spring months were just starting, the snow having melted away, leaving fresh grass to start to grow all over the place. The trees were beginning to regrow their leaves, and everything seemed back to normal around the peaceful village. But that was to be a short-lived peace.

It was near midnight in Knothole as Sonic sat on the log down by the Power Ring pool, watching the water ripple as he threw a rock into it. Beside him sat Cody, with Drake off chasing after a firefly a few yards away. They had come down here to relax, the day's task of running another mission against Robotropolis having taken their toll on them. Sonic had just barely missed getting blown up when his watch had stopped working after he had planted the explosives. Cody, on the other hand, had lead several hover-units on a wild chase through the city, which had almost come to an end when he barely missed plowing into a walkway when he had turned around after having fired at the hover-units chasing him. Lily was still giving him a hard time about that. Not to mention the fact that the little dragon chao was still steamed about not getting to go on any missions into Robotropolis yet. Now he was taking out his anger about not going on the firefly he was chasing, trying to slash the insect out of the air with the claws on the ends of his three fingered hands.

"Hey Drake. Leave the firefly alone," said Cody. Drake stopped chasing it and gave Cody a pout before flying up into a nearby tree and sitting down to look up at the night sky.

"Can't blame him for doing that," said Sonic as he watched Drake look down at them and stick his tongue out at Cody, who just smiled and turned back to look at the ring pool.

"He's still just a child. I can't really blame him either," said Cody as he tossed a stone into the pool. He watched the water ripple out from the place where the stone hit until the water rings vanished. He then stood up. "It's getting late. We should get back," he said as he looked up. "Come on Drake! We're leaving!"

"Coming!" cried the small dragon chao as he flew down next to Cody. Ever since he had first changed into what he had called his large form, his chao form wings had become a lot stronger, and he had also learned how to fully control them as well.

"Coming Sonic?" asked Cody, turning his head back towards his friend.

"I'll be along in a minute," said Sonic as he continued to stare at the water.

"Okay. I'll see you back in Knothole," said Cody as he and Drake started off towards the village. Sonic stared at the water, the events of the day going through his mind. Today had been a close one in his books, considering he had escaped the building only seconds before it blew. He had told himself afterwards that he would always wear his emerald belt, just in case something like that ever happened again. But something still bugged him. Ever since that incident over a month ago, they hadn't seen hide nor hair of that raptor that had attacked them. And the way it had healed itself like that wasn't any ordinary ability. That much everyone agreed on. But if it was after them, then why hadn't it showed back up since then?

As he sat there, a small rustle in the bushes to his left caught his attention. Trying not to look like he had heard it, he stood up and started back towards Knothole, trying not to look on guard. But after a few minutes of walking with nothing revealing itself from the forest, he relaxed. _Must have been a squirrel or something, _he thought to himself. After another minute, he could see the lights from the street lamp torches burning in the distance. But just before he entered the clearing, another bush rustled. Knowing now that someone or something was following him, he cautiously turned around.

"Who's there?" he called out, not really expecting them to answer. He scanned the forest when something caught his eye, and what he saw made him turn white as a sheet. In the shadows was a pair of yellow, cat-like eyes staring at him. Backing away slowly at first, he suddenly saw another pair of cat-like eyes appear just above and to the left of the first pair, only these were green. Sonic turned to run.

"Please don't run. We are not going to hurt you," said a female voice from the shadows. Sonic, taken aback that whatever these two things were could talk, stopped in his tracks. He turned around as the figure with the green eyes walked out into the light. It took Sonic every ounce of courage not to yell or run when he saw that the creature was a real velociraptor. It matched the profile Nicole had displayed the day they were trying to figure out what the creature in the factory had been. The other figure then stepped out into the light, revealing itself to be a shorter velociraptor. Sonic suddenly recognized the size and shape of the second raptor as being exactly the same as the one that had attacked him and Knuckles. But it was the same yellow eyes staring back at him that sent a chill down his spine. Letting out a cry of fear, Sonic turned and ran full speed into the village, yelling for everyone to wake up as he went by the huts, a sonic boom following behind him in his wake as he broke open the sound barrier halfway into the village.

"Well, that could have gone better," said Saber as he looked over at Slasher.

"Well, if you hadn't tried to _eat_ him before, then he probably wouldn't have done that," said Slasher, looking him in the eyes with a glare. Saber looked down at the ground at the mention of that day. The guilt of attacking sentient creatures had eaten away at him since he had attacked Sonic and Knuckles in the factory. Slasher sighed before looking back in the direction Sonic had gone. "We'd better try and catch him before he causes a riot," she said as she spread her golden wings, taking off into the air and flying in the direction Sonic had gone, Saber running along the ground underneath her.

"Wake up!" cried Sonic as he sped past Cody's hut, waking the three occupants.

"What's going on?" asked Drake, looking up from his little makeshift bed on the floor, next to which sat the blue Chaos Emerald. The emerald was now fashioned onto a chain so the little chao could carry it around and have his hands free at the same time. Cody switched on his pupils as he stood up, and was almost blown to the ground as the sonic boom following the cerulean hedgehog finally caught up with Cody's hut. A strong blast of wind was sent howling through the wooden structure, knocking several things off the tables and nightstands. Cody quickly spotted the most important thing to catch and dove for it, catching the only picture of him and Lily before the coup that he had left.

"I'm not sure," he said, placing the picture gently back on the nightstand. He looked up just in time to see Saber run by the hut, his head visible in the hut's window. "But I think I know now!" With that, he ran out of the hut to see Saber further down the pathway, seeming to be following Sonic. Cody leaped into the air and fired his foot jets, taking off after Saber as Lily stopped at the door to watch her husband take off after the raptor. Drake, now in his large form, flew out the window and gave chase as well. Further on down the street, Sonic had slowed down considerably to avoid hitting anything as he tried to alert everyone in the village. Unfortunately for him, when he looked back to see if the two raptors were chasing him, he missed a turn and ran smack into a tree, hitting it hard enough to knock him unconscious. Slasher, who had been trailing him from the air, cringed when she had seen him crash into the tree. Landing next to him, she folded her wings against her body and bent down to see if Sonic was okay. Saber ran up next to her a few seconds later.

"What happened?" asked Saber.

"He wasn't paying attention and crashed," said Slasher as she placed a clawed hand on his head to check for bleeding. But as soon as she touched him, she was slammed from the side by Cody, who had thought she was going to eat Sonic when she had bent down to check on him. Saber looked over at the tumbling pair when Drake suddenly tackled him from behind. Slasher and Cody came to a stop with Slasher on top, pinning him to the ground as a precaution. But Cody took it as an act of aggression, and extended the razor sharp claws that were retracted inside his fingers. He then tried to dig them into Slasher's leg, but the raptor saw the claws extend and gave a strong flap of her wings, barely avoiding the slash from Cody's hands. She landed on the ground and took a few steps back. Cody leaped to his feet and took a proper fighting stance, his metallic claws gleaming in the moonlight.

"I don't want to fight you," said Slasher as she eyed the robotic hedgehog. A few meters away, Saber and Drake were struggling with one another, each of them trying to pin the other one to the ground. Saber managed to get Drake on the ground, but before he could pin him in place, Drake breathed a blast of fire from his mouth, surprising Saber and causing him to back off from the heat. Drake quickly got to his feet and delivered a head-butt to Saber's stomach, causing him to double over in pain.

"Oh man…check please…"muttered Sonic as he woke up. He put a hand to his head, but regretted it when a sharp pain shot through where he touched it and felt a nice sized bump beginning to form on his head. He then looked up to see the four combatants at a stand off, Cody and Drake on one side, Slasher and Saber on the other, both groups waiting for the other to attack. Cody, seeing Sonic awake, looked over at him hesitantly, wondering if he should chance leaving the raptors to Drake alone. But when he looked back at Slasher, she took a step back and nodded towards Sonic. Cody, taking the hint, ran next to Sonic and knelt down. Drake, still not wanting to trust the two reptiles, kept his position, flames flicking from the corners of his mouth as a signal that he would attack if either of them moved.

"You okay Sonic?" asked Cody as he helped Sonic to his feet.

"Yeah," said Sonic dizzily as he got to his feet. Cody looked back at the two raptors, both of which looked worried.

"He'll be okay," said Cody. He then turned to Drake. "It's okay Drake. You can stop." Drake relaxed his stance, the flames in the corners of his mouth dissipating.

"If you say so," said Drake before he bounded up next to Cody, who in turn gave his head a pat in-between his two brown stripped yellow horns. Slasher took a step forward, trying not to appear aggressive in any way.

"I'm sorry we scared you," said Slasher.

"No need to apologize," said Sonic. "I shouldn't have freaked like that."

"You had a right to be scared," said Saber, lowering his head. "I attacked you a few months ago, so how else could you react to seeing me again." Sonic smiled slightly. Apparently, Nicole's information on raptors being hunters first and social second was wrong.

"Hey! No harm, no foul," said Sonic. "Now let's get inside so that we aren't out in the cold." Slasher and Saber followed Sonic as he led them to the community hut in the center of the village, where everyone that Sonic had woken up was staying, waiting for word on what was going on. Many people started to panic when Slasher and Saber walked into the hut, but the fear was replaced by curiosity when Sonic and Cody calmed everyone down and told them that they were friendly. Sally, Knuckles, Lily, and Tails were present, watching the raptors as they walked to the middle of the hut. Sally, ever the diplomatic one, stepped forward.

"Welcome to Knothole, friends," she said, the basic fear gone with the announcement from Sonic and Cody that they were friends. "What brings you to our village?" Slasher and Saber exchanged glances, then returned them to Sally.

"I think it would be best to just get straight to the point. Three days ago, our home was attacked, and we were forced to flee," said Slasher. "It started out as any other day…"

***************************

Raptors bustled about the main chamber of the cave system, exchanging early morning gossip, and getting themselves prepared for the day's tasks. Slasher and Saber were inside Slasher's hut, Saber waiting patiently as Slasher pruned her wings.

"So when do we begin the test?" asked Saber. He had advanced quite a bit in his training since his incident of running off on his own almost five months earlier, and now he was about to undergo his test with Slasher to prove that he was ready for the next stage of his training. Slasher looked up at him, a smile etched on her face.

"You have waited this long, a few more minutes won't hurt you," she said. Suddenly, a chorus of high-pitched screeches sounded off in the cave, a signal that something was seriously wrong. Slasher and Saber both ran to the hut window and looked outside to see several raptors run past. Suddenly black rings that looked like collars flew by outside, chasing down the raptors. Slasher and Saber watched in horror as one of the male raptors tripped, the collar clamping itself around his neck. He slowly stood up, his eyes a blank stare as he stood as still as a statue.

"What's going on?" asked Saber. Slasher shook her head.

"I don't know, but we'll find out," said Slasher as the two of them ran out of the hut, just barely missing getting captured by two of the black collars. "Look! Up there!" cried Slasher, pointing at one of the cave entrances near the top of the cavern. Saber turned his attention to where Slasher was pointing to see two figures standing there, one a good size bigger than the other. Suddenly, three more collars flew from where the two were standing and flew down into the small community of raptors, two of them finding their targets almost immediately.

"What are they doing to them?" asked Saber. Slasher watched as another collar claimed a victim.

"They're putting them under some kind of mind control or something," said Slasher under her breath. Unable to sit by and watch this any longer, Slasher let out her own high-pitched cry, spreading her wings and taking to the air. As she flew up towards the two unsuspecting intruders, she was able to get a better view of them. The shorter one was a metallic crimson color, with long metallic dreadlocks flowing down his back, his pupils shining a bright green. The taller one was definitely a raptor, that much Slasher could tell, but he couldn't have been a real raptor, for he had metal covering the top of his head, back, and his entire tail, which sported barbs on the tip.

"How delicious!" said Leviathan as he watched two more raptors fall prey to his little devices. "The collars are proving to be very effective. In a few more minutes, all these raptors will be under my command."

"Two more to go," said Robo Knuckles as he launched the last two collars at the two raptors remaining in the cavern, not including Slasher, who they hadn't noticed yet. But Slasher did notice that one of the remaining raptors was Saber. Forgetting about attacking them, she instead went into a dive. Leviathan noticed Slasher out of the corner of his eye as she tried to take out the collar before it could get Saber. _Hmm…Interesting, _thought Leviathan as he watched the winged raptor grab the collar in her jaws and clamped down hard, shattering it. _A winged raptor…I'll have to make a note of that for future projects._

"Let's get out of here!" cried Slasher as she caught up with Saber. The two of them ran towards one of the other three remaining exits, Robo Knuckles watching as they ran out of sight.

"Two of them got away," he said, turning to face Leviathan.

"No matter. I have what I came for," said Leviathan, turning towards the collared raptors staring off into space, waiting for a command from their new master. "An army that is more than capable of finding just what I need on Little Planet!" Down below, both Slasher and Saber heard Leviathan's last statement, considering the fact he had yelled it, but at the time, they weren't too concerned with it.

*****************************************

"After that, we went looking for help," said Saber.

"And after asking a few people that didn't run away on us, we found out about Knothole and the Freedom Fighters that seemed to always be able to help out anyone in need," said Slasher.

"But how did you find Knothole?" asked Lily, brushing a lock of her brown her out of her eyes.

"Probably the same way that metallic raptor did if it has the ability to do such a thing, which at this point wouldn't surprise me after it healed itself. By following the scent of someone living here," said Cody.

"It is possible. We raptors have a very acute sense of smell," said Saber.

"And since Saber had already picked up your scent once before back in that city nearby, it wasn't too hard to for him to find it again out here," said Slasher. Drake, who had reverted to his chao form so he could be in Cody's arms, took in everything the raptors had said, but was still confused on one thing.

"What would Leviathan want that is on Little Planet? Speaking of which, just what is Little Planet?" asked Drake. Sonic was about to answer when he caught his breath, suddenly realizing what the robotic raptor was planning to do.

"He's going after the Timestones!" cried Sonic, startling everyone in the hut, including both the raptors, from his nearly jumping out of his chair.

"The what?" asked Knuckles. While he was very well versed in the Chaos Emeralds, Super Emeralds, and the Master Emerald, he had never heard of the Timestones before now.

"The Timestones," said Sonic. "They are seven mystical gems that reside on Little Planet. If someone is able to collect all seven stones, they can travel through time. And any changes they make to the past or future won't effect them in any way, shape, or form." Knuckles' as well as the two raptors' eyes widened as what Sonic had just said sank in.

"He could go to the future and bring back weapons that we could never defend against," said Knuckles.

"Or worse," said Cody. "He could alter the past, changing it forever."

"Then we have to go to Little Planet right away!" said Drake, fluttering out of Cody's arms and onto the table Cody was seated at.

"Yes. This robot has to be stopped no matter what," said Sonic, standing up. Slasher and Saber also stood up.

"You don't know how to fight a raptor, but we do. We'll go with you," said Slasher.

"Good to have you along," said Sonic. Cody also stood.

"Well, you can't very well have all the fun. I'm in," said Cody. Drake gave a nod as he flew up onto Cody's shoulders, a silent sign that he was going. Sonic suddenly thought of something that might throw a wrench into their plan of bringing the raptors along.

"Uh, how are we going to get you two up to Little Planet?" asked Sonic. Slasher unfolded her wings just enough to allow them to be seen.

"I'll be okay, and I can carry you as well," she said.

"I think between Drake in his large form and myself, we should be able to get Saber up there no problem," said Cody. Lily walked over to her husband and wrapped her arms around him.

"Be careful. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you," she said, pulling away and looking him in his eyes. Cody nodded softly, knowing that the silent gesture was all she needed to reassure her, but he also decided to take it up a notch and give her another hug back.

"I will dear. I promise," he said before letting go of his embrace.

"All right then. Let's get going," said Sonic as the group of five left the community hut and set out towards the southeast in the direction of Never Lake and Little Planet. Sonic and Saber ran along the ground at about sixty mph, while Cody, Drake, and Slasher followed from above. As they headed towards the lake, the fact that Little Planet would shift though time constantly, only showing up for an extended period of time on the last month of the year, which had passed already, was bugging Sonic, making him wonder if the small planet would be there. But if this robot raptor believed that Little Planet would be there, then they had to believe that as well. He then looked back at Saber.

"Any way you can move faster than this?" he asked. If the robotic raptor and the controlled ones were already on Little Planet, then they would need all the time they could get to reach them in time. Saber smiled at Sonic as he suddenly sped past him. Sonic grinned as well as he caught up with Saber, their speed nearly double what it was. Above them, the others had also sped up to keep pace with them.

************************************

"How goes the hunt for the last stone?" asked Leviathan as Robo Knuckles walked up from behind, coming to a stop just to the right of the robotic raptor. Leviathan's collar, before only having a bright green gemstone set in it at the base, now had seven extra slots arranged around the collar. In six of them was a Timestone, each one glowing as bright as the larger base gem.

"We actually have it now," said Robo Knuckles. "Zeta Group reports that they're on their way now with the stone even as we speak." Leviathan smirked at the news his "lackey" had given.

"Then I no longer require your services," said Leviathan, his tail swishing back and forth. Robo Knuckles became confused at Leviathan's statement.

"What do you…" he started to say as he turned to look at the raptor, but he never finished the sentence. With one twirl of his body, Leviathan had slashed a gaping hole out of Robo Knuckles chest with the barbs on his tail. Robo Knuckles fell to the ground, his inner mechanisms torn to shreds and his main power failing fast from the numerous severed connections.

"Why…?" was all he managed to speak. Leviathan placed a clawed foot on top of the mecha bot's head.

"Because I no longer have any need of you," said Leviathan, just before he dug his toe claw deep into Robo Knuckles head, shredding his main power cells to scrap. Robo Knuckles was shocked, to say the least. Leviathan had played him for a fool. He tried to say something else, but his main power finally gave out, his green pupils vanishing into the blackness of his eyes. Leviathan, unmoved by what he had just done, looked out onto the meadow below. All was going according to plan. All he would need to do is acquire the last Timestone and he would be able to finish his plan. His train of though was broken as a small, auburn-colored male raptor, still bound by the powers of the control collar around his neck, ran up to him.

"Master! Omega Group just spotted the two missing raptors, along with three other unknown people, approaching from about ten miles away to the east," he said. Leviathan lowered his head and gritted his teeth. He couldn't have those rogue raptors and whoever else that was with them stop him from getting the final Timestone. Not when he was so close.

"Tell Omega Group to hold them off until I get the final stone. I will not have my moment of glory taken away from me!" he hissed as he turned and walked away. The raptor, not wasting any time, turned and headed back towards the area where the Omega Group was waiting for orders.

************************************

"So exactly how do we find this raptor?" asked Drake as he walked along side Cody, still in his large form. "I mean, we have no clue as to where he might be."

"He has a point," said Sonic as the group walked along the grassy meadow that spread out for a few miles to the west.

"Simple. We smell him out," said Slasher as she closed her eyes and took a whiff of the air. Several different scents filled her nose, each one a new sensation to take in, all except for one. Her eyes shot open. "He's to the west, about ten miles." Suddenly, she tensed up as several familiar scents wafted to her. Cody, noticing the reaction, stopped and turned back to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Sonic and Drake also stopped in their tracks. Saber had also tensed up, smelling the same thing that had caught Slasher's attention.

"We've got company," said Slasher. Everyone looked around as a half dozen raptors of various size and markings, each one wearing a black collar around their necks, rose out of the taller grass that covered portions of the meadow.

"What do we do?" whispered Sonic to Slasher.

"Run," she whispered back. Without a second's hesitation, everyone took off from where they were, the other raptors letting out hunting screeches as they gave chase.

"Oh man! This is not good!" cried Sonic as a few more raptors leapt from the tall grass further ahead of them, ready to attack them when they reached them. They obviously were getting close, or else they wouldn't be under such a heavy assault right now.

"Now what?" cried Cody when he saw the other raptors emerge from the brush. Sonic smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Get ready to get the lead out, cause I'm gonna bowl them over," said Sonic as he uncrossed his arms, the glow of the seven gems in the invisible belt around his waist increasing as their power flowed into Sonic's body. His blue fur flashed into a rainbow of glowing colors as several large white energy stars began to circle his body. He then blasted forward, flying a few inches above the grassy meadow as he broke open the sound barrier with ease. The raptors in front of them, seeing the glowing, rainbow colored hedgehog barreling towards them, dove out of the way just before Hyper Sonic blazed by. They all started to get to their feet to give chase, but the sonic boom following Sonic suddenly hit them full force, the wind and concussive force knocking them off their feet and to the ground again. Slasher and the others dashed by a few seconds later, the controlled raptors trying to get back on their feet to give chase. _Well, that was rather effective,_ thought Sonic as he slowed down enough to allow the others to catch up to him.

"Nice move," said Saber as he ran up beside him, Drake flying along side.

********************************

"Master. I present to you the last Timestone," said a female raptor with thin, black stripes running down her back to the base of her tail as she knelt before Leviathan and held the glowing violet stone up to him. Leviathan looked down with a smile

"Excellent work my puppet," purred Leviathan as he took the stone. Gazing into its glow, Leviathan couldn't help but chortle at his accomplishments. The last piece of his plan had fallen into place. He then snapped the stone into place in his collar. "At last…My plan has come to pass!" he said with a laugh.

"That's what you think," said a voice. Leviathan whipped around to see Hyper Sonic and the others standing in a row about thirty yards behind him. "You're little vendetta ends here, raptor." Leviathan smirked as he craned his neck to display his collar filled with the Timestones.

"That's not the way I see it, Sonic," hissed Leviathan. "In fact, my vendetta has just begun!" With that, the seven Timestones glow increased ten-fold.

"Oh no!" cried Cody as he realized what was in his collar. "He has the Timestones! And he's preparing to use them!"

"Not if I can help it!" cried Sonic, leaping at Leviathan, who was taken by surprise at the maneuver. This resulted in Sonic managing to grasp onto Leviathan's neck before the robotic raptor could dodge him. Swinging around, Sonic grasped onto the top of Leviathan's collar, trying to electrocute the raptor with his invincibility. Leviathan thrashed back and forth, trying to get Sonic off him, crying out in pure pain as chaos energy flooded his body. Neither of them noticed that both the blue Super Emerald miniature and the blue Timestone were touching each other as Sonic fought to stay on Leviathan long enough to short him out. But with a final flick of his neck, Leviathan succeeded in flinging Sonic off him. Sonic fell to the ground, looking up just in time to see the seven Timestones on Leviathan's collar flash each of their respectable colors brightly.

"See you in the past, Sonic," laughed Leviathan as he vanished in a cocoon of white light. But the light didn't recede, but rather began to expand, rushing towards the group at a very high rate of speed.

"What on Mobius is that!?" cried Sonic just before the light engulfed him. The light kept expanding, covering the two raptors, as well as Cody and Drake. The light kept growing larger, expanding over the plains at an incredible rate of speed, covering all the raptors that were spread throughout the plains. Finally, the light stopped expanding after covering almost a two mile radius. When the light died down after several minutes, all of the collared raptors stood perfectly still, still trapped in the trance of the collars but now having no master to command them. However, five people were no longer present in the crowd of reptiles.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Oh man…" said Sonic as he opened his eyes. His vision was fuzzy, but why it was he couldn't tell. Suddenly recalling the light sphere, he shot up into a sitting position. But what greeted his gaze was not the lush, flowing fields of Little Planet, but the polluted, trashed streets of Robotropolis. Now completely confused, he jumped to his feet. Something about the city was different, but he could tell it was definitely a street in Robotropolis he was standing on. "Well…At least I know where I am," he said, his eyes glancing from side to side, still unsure if he was really in the city, or if it was some illusion. "Question is…How did I get here?"

A high pitched shrill echoed down one of the alleyways further up the street, causing Sonic to nearly jump out of his skin. It was a familiar cry, too. One he knew all too well. Quickly ducking behind one of the numerous piles of trashed robot parts that lined all the streets, he watched with a hint of fear in his eyes as the owner of the cry walked out from the alleyway. It was a velociraptor, that much was certain by the build of the body and the way it walked, but it was definitely not a real one.

It was completely mechanical, with gleaming metallic silver armor covering its entire body. Its two eyes glowed bright red like two sniper scope lights as its neck craned back and forth, scanning the street as it slowly walked out of the alleyway and into the middle of the street. It tilted its head to the left slightly before lowering it to the asphalt. The raptor gave a few small sniffs, then a slightly bigger one. It hissed softly as its head rose back up to its normal height, scanning back and forth slowly as if looking for something.

_Oh great...This is all I need right now_, thought Sonic as he quickly ducked his head behind the trash heap. He could hear the clank of the raptor's metal claws on the concert as it slowly approached him, the noise getting increasingly louder with each step. Sonic knew he had two options. One was to try and hightail it out of there. While he knew he could definitely get away from this robot, there was no telling if it was a one of a kind robot. And if it wasn't, there was no telling how many more might be in the immediate area that could be called in to block his escape. Not to mention that the one he'd be running away from would more than likely set off the entire city's defense grid like all of the Swatbots did, alerting everything in the city to his presence. However, the second option wasn't any better by any stretch of the imagination and that was to attack the mechanical raptor head-on and hope that he could defeat it.

_Why me?_ asked Sonic to himself as he got into a set position. The sound of the raptor's clawed feet on the pavement was louder than ever now, the sound coming to an abrupt halt as the raptor stopped just on the other side of the pile. He could hear the raptor growling softly to itself, a few huffs of air as it sniffed the air again. It then gave a very low growl followed by complete silence. Sonic tensed, sweat beginning to form on his forehead as his heartbeat jumped up a good notch. The attack came so fast that not even Sonic had time to react as something slammed hard into his back, knocking him forward on all fours right in front of the raptor.

It snarled loudly before raising a clawed foot up into the air, bringing it down hard right at Sonic's back. Luckily for Sonic, he wasn't slow on the rebound. Pushing off the ground with his left foot and hand as hard as he could, he rolled out from underneath the clawed foot just a split second before it slammed into the cement street with a loud clang. He rolled a good ten feet before he jumped back to his feet, getting his first look at his surprise attacker. _Just perfect..._he thought as he saw a second identical raptor staring him down, its face one of annoyance, obviously provoked by the fact that its little surprise attack had failed. Both of the raptors growled softly as they watched Sonic, neither of them making a move to attack or retreat.

"You two obviously aren't as dumb as the average Swatbot," said Sonic as the realization that they were waiting for him to make the first move sank in. But he merely smiled at this as he crossed his arms over his chest and flung them outward, his fur igniting in a flare of rainbow color as the Super Emerald miniatures' power began to flow through him. But as soon as the transformation had completed, it fizzled out, leaving Sonic his normal shade of blue once again. _That's...not good, _he thought as he eyed the two raptors, both of them slowly advancing towards him. He tensed up, ready to bolt in any direction that he could find an opening to escape from, but from what he could tell both of the robot raptors had a way to intercept him no matter which way he ran. But before any of them could make another move, a metallic arrow slammed into the left raptor's side, followed closely by a second arrow that embedded itself in the head of the right one. Both raptors left out a sharp cry, but this was paled in comparison to the screech they both released when a powerful jolt of electricity burst forth from the arrows, completely frying the raptors' circuitry as they both collapsed to the pavement.

"Lucky thing we saw that flash of light, otherwise we may not have gotten here fast enough," said a voice as Sonic looked over towards where the arrows had come from, narrowing his eyes and clenching his fists at what he saw. Four mobians composing of a middle-aged male skunk and robin, an older looking badger, and a rather young looking fox stood there, eyeing him suspiciously, but not saying or doing anything to say they saw him as a threat. But it wasn't the mobians themselves that had sparked his anger, but rather the fact that they were carrying in tow a de-activated Cody, a bound and muzzled Slasher and Saber, and a frightened Drake.

"Who are you and what have you done to my friends?" shouted Sonic. One of the mobians, the fox, stepped forward. He wore a loose fitting white t-shirt and a torn pair blue jeans that had slits cut in the knees. In his right hand he was holding a crossbow with an arrow set and ready to shoot. On his back was a hand-crafted wicker quiver filled with metallic arrows

"We are the Knothole Freedom Fighters," said the fox, his voice the same one Sonic had heard after the robots had been downed. "And those are our prisoner," he said, jerking a thumb back at the group. "It is a first for us to come across a couple of live specimens of these robotic lizards, as well as this interesting robot and its small companion."

"Let them go right now, whoever you are, or you will have to deal with me. And trust me, I'm not in the mood today," said Sonic, clenching his fists and tensing up to attack. The fox took a couple of steps closer, then came to an abrupt halt now that he was close enough to get a good look at Sonic's face.

"Who...are you?" he asked. He eyed Sonic for several long seconds before his eyes opened wide in recognition. "It can't be you..." he said, walking slowly up to Sonic. The blue hedgehog held his ground as the fox came to within a foot of his face, their eyes staring deep into each other's. As the fox stared into Sonic's eyes, he slowly started to shake his head back and forth, not believing what his eyes told him, yet deep down he knew it was true. "Sonic...?" It was at the saying of his name that Sonic spotted the one thing about the fox that he hadn't noticed till now. Not just one, but two tails were swishing back and forth behind the fox.

"Tails?" asked Sonic. The fox's disbelieving look suddenly became one of joy as he embraced Sonic in a hug, Sonic returning it.

"I don't believe it! It's really you!" shouted Tails as he broke the hug. He then turned back to the group. "Let them go." Without any hesitation the bonds were removed from the two raptors, though not without a snarl and an angry glare from Saber which was quickly stopped by Slasher's own glare at him.

"Will he be okay?" asked Sonic, motioning to Cody who was being held upright by the skunk due to his power down.

"It's just off-line right now. I can easily get it up and running again. I made sure to use one of my arrows with a much smaller charge to just cause a power flux that shut it down, not completely fry it," said Tails.

"For the record, it's a 'he', and his name is Cody," said Sonic. Tails winced as he realized he'd offended Cody by calling him an "it".

"Sorry. I didn't realize he was a robian. No robian I've meet has ever been armed for combat like he is," said Tails apologetically.

"No problem, but I have to ask this. Why are you taller?" asked Sonic, eyeing a Tails that was at least half a foot taller than the Tails he knew. He hadn't noticed it at first, but after their little hug, he couldn't help but realize that Tails was actually only a couple inches shorter than he was. Tails gave him a confused look, then smiled at him.

"Well, being fifteen will kind of make you taller than what you were when you were only seven," he said.

"Fifteen!? But you're only ten," said Sonic, his eyes wide in confusion. Tails was about to ask him if he was okay when several loud screeches could be heard off in the distance.

"No time to talk now," said Tails as he looked about, trying to determine where the sound had come from. "It won't be long before a bunch more velocibots show up. We're in an area that has a ton of these things."

"Velocibots?" asked Sonic.

"The robots you just fought," he answered.

"So more of those things are coming this way?" asked Sonic, looking up and down the street nervously.

"By the sound of it, at least five if not more," said Tails.

"They're coming from the south," said Slasher, sniffing the air and cocking her head in different directions as she listened. "About...five hundred yards and coming this way judging from the heavy metal strikes of their claws on the pavement." She looked back at the group only to see all the mobians as well as Tails and Sonic staring at her. "Much more acute senses than you guys," was all she said. Tails nodded, then motioned for the group to head out towards the north, the group taking off at a jog.

"So how long till they'll catch up to us?" asked Tails as he ran along side Slasher.

"They won't if we get out of here fast," said Slasher as she came to a stop, kneeling down as the others stopped as well. "Put Cody on my back with two of you guys. Saber, you take the other two and get ready to bolt." Saber nodded as he lowered himself to the ground, the robin and badger quickly climbing on his back. Tails and the skunk hoisted Cody onto Slasher's back before climbing on themselves.

"Ready," said Tails after he made sure Cody wouldn't fall off as they escaped.

"Let's go," said Slasher as she sprinted off, Saber and Sonic following her close behind as the cries of the velocibots echoed in the city streets and alleyways. Sonic kept looking over his shoulder, expecting to see them emerge from one of the side-streets and catch them, but the mechanical raptors never caught up with them as their cries eventually faded into nothing as the group exited the city and started off towards Knothole.

*************************************

"Well, I can't take you to my workshop right away, or it would cause suspicion, so we'll have to go to our leader's hut first," said Tails as he and the others dismounted the raptors just outside Knothole and raised his crossbow at them. "I don't want to do this, but if I were to enter the village with two raptors and a robot that's decked out for combat like he is without seeming to have total control over you, they'd jump you in a heartbeat." Sonic just shook his head at this and took lead position. _What kind of upside down world have we fallen into?_ he thought to himself. Slasher and Saber formed up in the middle as Tails followed from behind, crossbow trained on them as the other three mobians carried Cody. The nine of them entered the village, some of the mobians stopping what they were doing to whisper between each other, obviously wondering who they were and what they were doing here.

Sonic took in the villagers, some of them he knew, and others he didn't recall ever meeting. Other than the difference in the people living in Knothole, the village had not really changed much. A few of the huts were in different places, but aside from that, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. As they approached a hut that was nearly four times the size of any of the others, which Sonic guessed was the leader's hut, Tails nudged Slasher in the back with the tip of the arrow on the crossbow. Slasher, knowing that Tails was doing this only to make the faked capture seem more real, looked over her shoulder and snarled at Tails. After they had passed by the villagers and had entered the hut, everyone relaxed. Tails then turned to Sonic, a look of worry on his face.

"I have to warn you that our leader is a little frightening to those not familiar with him, but he's been in command of the Knothole Freedom Fighters for nearly ten years now." The group walked into the main room of the hut, Tails leading the way. Seated at one of the chairs was a red, female hedgehog with long brown hair done up in a bun. She wore a pair of cut-off denim shorts with a blaster in a holster wrapped around her waist and a vest that looked much like Sally's only it was colored a light shade of brown. Sonic instantly recognized who it was, as did Drake, but both choose not to say anything. Tails gave a slight cough, causing the hedgehog to look up from the documents she was reading.

"More prisoners of war, I'm guessing?" asked the hedgehog, knowing the routine now by heart from the countless times she had done this in the past.

"Actually, no," said Tails. The hedgehog gave him a look of confusion as she got to her feet.

"Then what are they? Spies?" she asked. Tails couldn't help but chuckle just a little.

"Ever the paranoid one, aren't you? No, Lily. They are friends," said Tails. The hedgehog's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Not often did the village have unknown guests that actually turned out to be friendly.

"And just who are they?" asked Lily.

"The two raptors are Slasher and Saber," said Tails, motioning with his crossbow at each of them as he said their names. "The robian's name is Cody, and the little guy is his chao Drake." Lily nodded, though Sonic noticed she did give Cody a second glace before turning towards him.

"And you are?" she asked.

"Sonic," answered Sonic, extending his hand to her. She took it and had just started to shake it when she suddenly stopped as the realization of what he had just said hit her.

"Sonic…_The_ Sonic?" she asked, squinting as if to focus on him to make sure he was real.

"You know it," said Sonic. Lily, still suffering from the shock of this revelation, fell back into her chair.

"This is definitely great news for all of us," said Lily as she smiled. "Most of us had given up hope that we would have any chance to end this war. Especially after most of Mobius was destroyed by Robotnik."

"Whoa whoa whoa! Time out!" said Sonic, making a "T" symbol with his hands. "What do you mean Robotnik destroyed most of Mobius?"

"Without you around to stop his plans, he destroyed most of planet leaving ruin in his wake," said Tails, his face solemn. "He only spared the Great Forest and the areas around the other Freedom Fighter outposts so that he could have a little bit of pleasure in watching our attempts to end his reign."

"But how is Robotnik behind Mobius ending up that way?" asked Sonic, his mind now racing. While he had pretty much been sure up to now that the world they were now in was one created by Leviathan's use of the Timestones, this new information suggested that the robotic raptor wasn't the one responsible for the dire state of the planet. _But if that's true, what the heck threw the timeline so far off course?_

"Well now this is a surprise," said a voice from the doorway. Everyone looked up towards the doorway.

"You!" shouted Sonic as he and the others aside from Lily and Tails took on a defensive stance. Drake bit into his emerald, growing into his large form as he prepared to fight.

"Ah! So you already know Leviathan, then," said Tails. This set off confusion in the group of four standing in a fighting stance. Leviathan merely smirked as he entered the hut, not making any aggressive move at all. Sonic looked at the robot raptor, then back at Tails

"You mean you know this robot?" asked Sonic.

"I would hope so," said Tails. He then motioned towards Leviathan with his hand. "Meet the leader of the Knothole Freedom Fighters." A look of shock came over Sonic's face as he turned back towards the robotic raptor as he walked calmly past the group and into the main room of the hut.

"You have got to be kidding me!?" cried Sonic. "There is no way _he_ can be the leader of the Freedom Fighters!" Leviathan, unmoved by Sonic's outburst, turned to face them.

"Believe it, Sonic," said Leviathan. Tails and Lily, now totally lost as to what was going on, just gave each other a confused glance. Leviathan, seeing the confusion on their faces, gave a sigh. "I guess now is as good a time as any."

"For what?" asked Tails. Leviathan looked over at Sonic and the others.

"You might want to hear this as well, as it does pertain to you," he said. Everyone gave a nod. "Very well. This part of the conversation is for you two," he said, looking at Tails and Lily. "Don't tell anyone else outside of this room. Do I have your word you will not tell?"

"Yes," they said together. Leviathan gave a nod.

"First off, I am not a cyborg as I told you originally," said Leviathan. "I am, in fact, a mecha bot. Mecha bot 5 to be exact." Both Tails and Lily took a couple steps back upon hearing the news, but otherwise made no other outward sign they were surprised. "The six of us are not from this timeline. We come from a Mobius that has not yet fallen to Robotnik. A Mobius where great strides in ending his reign of terror on the northern part of the planet have taken place," said Leviathan.

"So your basically time travelers that ended up in our timeline somehow?" asked Tails.

"In a way, yes," said Leviathan. "But it's not that simple." At this, Leviathan turned his head slightly and lowered his head. "I am what caused this timeline to happen. As it was, you would probably have freed Mobius by now had I not changed the past."

"Now this is where I want to jump in," said Sonic, interrupting the mechanical raptor. "Just how exactly did you change the past?"

"When I arrived, I was ready to implement my plan, but somehow my creator had found out about my plan to betray him and installed a miniature device on my collar during one of his inspections of me. The device went unnoticed by me until my arrival ten years before we ever met in Knothole, when I was jumped by dozens of Swatbots and hover-units that homed in on the signal the device had transmitted. They managed to capture me, and then Robotnik extracted the information I carried within me."

"I follow you so far, but how does that constitute the timeline changing?" asked Slasher.

"It was through my capture that Robotnik learned the schematics to build the other mecha bots. He was already in the construction of the first one, but because of the information I carried, he discovered how to complete it almost a year before he would have. I was held captive in a special cell where I was bound and mind probed daily as Robotnik tried to divulge as much knowledge from me as he could. It was during that time that I decided I would kill him if I ever managed to escape. I watched helplessly over the next two weeks as the first mecha bot was finished, then the second one shortly after," said Leviathan.

"Hold up!" shouted Sonic, raising his hand to the raptor, stopping his speech yet again. "You're telling me that Robotnik found out how to build Metal Sonic nearly ten years before he was supposed to!?" Leviathan lowered his head, giving a slight nod.

"It was because of this that you were defeated in battle," said Leviathan. "The night before the mecha bots were brought on-line, I managed to finally override the cell I had been confined to after scanning the entire Robotropolis security grid non-stop for the two weeks I was hooked up to those torture machines. I escaped into the city, but I was unable to get very far. The Swatbots and other security kept me from doing so. The next thing I know, I hear laser shots being fired. I looked out of the alley I was in just in time to see you running down the street with the princess in your arms, Swatbots on your heels. I then made a decision to help out. An old saying goes 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'. An odd saying, but one that is logical when you think about it," said Leviathan.

"From viewing past surveillance tapes I knew you wouldn't leave the city for a little while longer. So I decided to go and wait for you near the entrance to the Great Forest to introduce myself and offer my services. However, I never got the chance. As soon as you and the princess reached the edge of the Great Forest, Metal Sonic appeared right in front of the both of you. He then made one swipe with both sets of claws, slitting both you and the princess' throats, inflicting fatal wounds that would kill you both in just a hand full of seconds. Metal Sonic ordered the Swatbots that had been still chasing you back to their posts, then looked up. I followed his gaze from my hiding spot to see Tails come running down the pathway, most likely to greet you and the princess. Metal Sonic then vanished as he cloaked himself, Tails coming to a stop when he saw you two dying in the middle of the path. I watched as he hunched over the two of them, trying not to panic, but not really able to stop himself from doing so. Then, in less than a minute, you were both gone." Leviathan was about to continue when he noticed out of the corner of his eye Sonic shaking his head back and forth slowly, his eyes shut tightly.

"No way..." he choked. Everyone else turned towards him as tears began to let themselves be known in his eyes. "No way," he said again, but this time his voice was firm, his shock ridden face twisting into scowl. "I'll kill you..." he whispered, his hands curling into fists as his teeth clenched together. Both Slasher and Saber immediately sprang to try and get a handle on Sonic, but he was too fast. Jumping from his spot so fast that no one had time to react, he flew at Leviathan, curling into a spindash and slamming himself as hard as he could into the raptor's face, knocking him into the wall and to the ground as Sonic tried to get into a proper position to initiate a second spindash without hurting the others. This time, though, he wasn't fast enough as both Slasher and Tails managed to get a grip on him from behind, lifting him off the ground as Sonic yelled at the top of his lungs for them to let him go.

"Sonic! Calm down! This won't help at all!" shouted Tails, trying to calm him back down before the other villagers heard him.

"I don't care! Let go of me now!" hollered Sonic as loud as he could.

"Listen to him, Sonic! If what Leviathan says is true, then there's nothing you can do about it! Killing him won't undo what has happened!" hollered Slasher. Sonic stopped struggling as soon as Slasher's last statement got through to him. It was true. Nothing he did now would matter. The only thing he could do now was move forward and make sure her sacrifice in this timeline didn't go to waste.

"Can we let you go safely?" asked Tails. Sonic only nodded. Slowly, the two of them released the blue hedgehog, but kept themselves at the ready to grab him again should he snap once more. Leviathan chuckled as he got back to his feet. His face had three deep gashes along his left cheek, but thanks to his ability to heal himself, the wounds quickly closed up and fused back together till you couldn't tell he had been hurt at all.

"You live up to your reputation as the fastest thing on this planet. I didn't even have time to put up my guard your attack came so fast. I'm impressed," he said.

"Just shut up," said Sonic coldly before turning and walking towards the door. "I'm gonna take a run and don't any of you dare come after me. I want to be left alone, got it?" Before anyone could answer him, a fierce gust of wind accompanied with a loud bang signaled his departure with a sonic boom.

"I know how he feels. We all lost someone real close to us that day," said Tails as the wind left in the wake of Sonic's exit died down. Slasher glanced back at the door.

"Will he be all right?" she asked. Tails merely sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

"I don't know. He and Sally were the closest people I've ever seen, even if they didn't show it most of the time. I have a feeling this news hit him harder than when Robotnik first took over Mobotropolis," he answered. He turned towards the sound of Slasher sighing.

"Either way, I'm going to follow him from the air if I can. As upset as he is, there's no telling what he'll do. I'd rather be safe than sorry," she said. Tails only gave a quick nod in agreement before Slasher ran out of the hut, giving a strong flap of her golden wings as she took to the air in search of the cerulean hedgehog. Tails turned back towards the three mobians carrying Cody.

"Come on guys. We've got a friend to fix up," he said as the four of them left the hut and headed towards the workshop on the other side of the village.

*********************************

Cody walked around the edge of Knothole, watching the adults doing their daily duties while the children watched him, often whispering amongst themselves. Not that he wasn't used to the kind of look the kids were giving him, but he still felt out of place in this version of Knothole. After having been filled in by Tails of what all had transpired, as well as hearing the story first hand from Leviathan, he wasn't at all surprised they looked at him as a monster. Especially so since he was a combat robot, not a typical worker-bot like all other robians.

"What's wrong?" asked Drake as he hovered along side his metallic friend. Cody looked up at the small heat-type chao, giving him a slight grin.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a lot on my mind," said Cody as he rounded the corner of one of the huts. Behind the hut was a small garden that seemed to have several rare flowers growing in it. The first of which he noticed was a beautiful blossom as big as a person's fist. The petals were not just one color, but striped with the seven colors of the rainbow. Cody practically ran over to the flower, Drake left behind wondering what had caught his attention.

"What is it?" asked Drake. Cody bent down and cupped the flower bloom in his hands gently, trying not to harm the plant. He then looked back at Drake.

"Do you know what this is?" asked Cody.

"No. Should I?" asked Drake. Cody looked back at the flower, his eyes glowing a little brighter than normal.

"It's a Rainbow Orchid," said Cody.

"What's a Rainbow Orchid?" asked Drake.

"It's one of the rarest flowers on Mobius, found in the Great Valley Meadow in the far south if I remember right. The last time I saw one was-" said Cody before he was cut off.

"On our wedding night," finished a female voice. Cody turned around to see Lily standing behind him, Drake hovering off to her side. "You're still the floral loving hedgehog I met all those years ago," she said with smirk. Cody had seen Lily briefly when he had been talking with Leviathan, but had chosen not to say anything.

"But how could you tell-" asked Cody.

"It was you?" she finished again. "Cody, even as a robot, you're still the hedgehog I knew and loved. Besides, your name was mentioned by Tails when he first brought you to the village."

"Wait a sec. That you 'knew and loved'?" asked Cody. Lily sighed and looked towards the ground as Cody stood up.

"It was about two years after the war had started when our village came under attack. During all the confusion, we got separated. I managed to escape the village, but when I got to the place where we had planned to meet if such an attack occurred, you weren't there. I waited for over a day, but you never showed up and I was forced to leave when the patrols started getting closer to where I was waiting. That was about thirteen years ago," she said. By now, she was almost in tears. "I journeyed to the Great Valley to get a Rainbow Orchard just like the one you gave me, and I've been planting its seeds so that new ones would grow each year to so I'd have something to remember...you..." At this, she broke down, crying as Cody took her into her arms.

"It's okay Lily. It'll be all right," he said, trying to comfort her. He motioned with his head at Drake, the small chao giving a nod as he flew off in search of something to do.

"I'm scared I'll lose you again, Cody. Real scared," said Lily, her voice filled with worry.

"Don't you worry. In a few days, all of this will be a memory long forgotten," he said. "Once the timeline is fixed, you and I will be back together, having never lost each other a single time."

"But how?" she asked, breaking away from the hug slightly to look up into his yellow eyes.

"In my timeline, both of us survived the main part of the war and even with me turned into what I am now, we found a home in Knothole. If we fix the timeline, then my timeline will be the one that plays out," he said a little confused at what he had said, but reckoning that he had said it the best he could have. She gave a smile as she embraced him in another hug.

"Now that's something I'm willing to fight for," she said.

*******************************

After nearly an hour of running, Sonic had finally settled down enough that he decided to stop and take a break. As he slowed down enough to get his bearings, he realized that he'd been so upset that he hadn't paid attention to where he was running and now had no clue as to where he was at. The surrounding area looked the same as any of the other scenery he had passed by. Nothing but barren wasteland littered with dead trees that had long since fallen and dried out soil that was cracked as far as the eye could see. Sighing, he spotted a boulder off in the distance. A quick sprint later he was sitting on top of it, staring at the dusty ground as his mind raced with a thousand thoughts that could not be sorted. He continued to stare at the ground for nearly twenty minutes before he heard a soft thud behind him.

"I thought I told you not to follow me," he said in a monotone voice, not looking up from where his eyes had been locked since he had sat down.

"I know," said Slasher softly as she folded her wings against her side and sat down on the rock. "I was just worried that you'd do something reckless. You didn't exactly seem to have it all together when you left."

"You think so?" he asked sarcastically, finally taking his eyes off their spot to glare over his shoulder at the winged raptor. "Well, I'm sorry about the way I reacted to the news I was told. So the most important person in my life has been dead for nearly ten years. No reason for me to get upset." Slasher frowned at him.

"Don't be like that. I never said it was wrong for you to react the way you did. I doubt I'd have reacted any differently if the same thing happened to me," she said. Sonic sighed, then turned his gaze back to its original spot.

"Sorry. I…I just never even considered what it would feel like if she was just...gone..." he said softly.

"You never realize what you truly have till it _is_ gone. Only then do you discover how precious it was and how you regret not taking advantage of all the time you had with it," said Slasher.

"You're right..." said Sonic as he looked up at the gray, overcast sky, Slasher's gaze following his. After a few minutes of reflection, Sonic stood up and walked back to where Slasher was seated and embraced her in a hug. Slasher flinched, a little surprised at the gesture, but returned it lightly before Sonic broke it. "Thank you." The winged raptor merely smiled slightly.

"You're welcome," she said as the two of them returned their gaze to the sky, letting their minds take in all that had transpired in the last hour and knowing that they had to find a way to set things right.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"So we all now know what the risk is involved in doing this, right?" asked Leviathan as he stood next to the table in the community hut that night. Sonic and the others had gathered around the table, the Knothole Freedom Fighters also gathered around to listen to the conversation.

"Can you run through it one more time?" yelled a brown chinchilla from the back. "Some of us didn't hear half of that!"

"Basically, five of you, along with myself, are going to sneak into the main base on Little Planet," said Leviathan, this time a little louder so those in the back could hear him. "Our goal is to secure the Timestone kept there. Believe it or not, our intelligence team has discovered that the Timestone located there is what's powering most of the base. If the power source is removed from the base, the other Freedom Fighter groups can launch an all-out offensive on the base without having to worry about the automated security systems that rely on the stone's power."

"And what's our role in this going to be?" asked Slasher. She already knew, but to make it seem that it was mostly Leviathan's plan would help rally the others behind the plan.

"Glad you asked, my winged friend," said Leviathan, Sonic snorting at the comment, but having it dismissed by the others around him. "You're job will be to fly Sonic out to the Floating Island to see if its possible to persuade the Guardian to join us. As it stands now, we need every last person we can get."

"Like that will ever happen," said Sonic, catching the other's attention. "There is no way Knux would let anyone on his island more than two seconds before he would kick them off. I should know considering I already went through that with him once before. And unlike last time, there isn't some immediate threat to his home that's gonna make him change his mind."

"Regardless, you know him the best out of all of us and are the prime candidate to undertake such a task," said Leviathan. Sonic merely frowned in annoyance with the knowledge he'd probably have to fight the echidna till he was completely worn down before he'd listen, but he also knew Leviathan was right.

"Let's just get on with the plan," said Saber, drawing attention away from the subject of Floating Island and Knuckles.

"The last part of the plan calls for Saber, Tails, Cody, Lily, and…" Here Leviathan paused, pointing a claw at the chao resting on Cody's head.

"Drake," said the small red chao with a smile.

"Right," said Leviathan. "You five will head to Robotropolis, where another one of the Timestones is kept. As far as who actually has in it their possession, I am unsure of. None of our spies has been able to confirm this information, but from what we've been able to gather, we're pretty sure it's one of the two mecha bots."

"Lovely," said Cody sarcastically as he recalled his first one-on-one fight with Mecha that had taken place a little over a year ago when he had first met Sonic. That fight had nearly killed him and probably would have if it hadn't been for Sonic nearly getting himself killed to stop Mecha.

"So when do we start?" asked Slasher.

"First thing in the morning, so everyone get a good rest tonight. Tomorrow is the day we begin the final chapter in this war. We're gonna strike hard and fast. This war will end with this last effort, one way or another," said Leviathan.

**************************************

Rings rippled through the water of the Power Ring pool, the remains from a rock tossed into the middle of it by Sonic. It was well after midnight, the twin moons above glowing bright as he sat on the log that was always present near the pool. As he watched the rings ripple towards him, he couldn't help thinking of how much the ripples caused by his stone were just like effects of Leviathan's time trip on the timeline. The two objects caused a distortion of something already present and blurred it out of existence. But as the rings reached the edge of the pool and disappeared, returning the pool to its glasslike surface once again, he had hope that the same thing could be done to the timeline.

"Couldn't sleep either?" asked a voice from out of nowhere, causing Sonic to nearly jump out of his skin as Saber emerged from the underbrush that surrounded the area.

"For crying out loud, Saber!" cried Sonic, trying his best to keep his voice down. "I wish you wouldn't do that to me!" Saber only smirked, the only outward sign that he showed at his own surprise. He hadn't intended to scare Sonic, but apparently he was getting the hang of making himself unknown to those around him when he wanted to be.

"Sorry," he said as he walked over into the clearing with the cerulean hedgehog. He then looked up at the two moons through the trees. "I just couldn't help but notice how down you looked sitting here, so I decided to see if you wanted to talk about anything." Sonic sighed as he took his seat back on the log, Saber watching him the whole time.

"Thanks for the concern Saber, but I'm okay," he said, although the raptor knew full well he was anything but okay.

"It's not healthy to keep things bottled up, you know," said Saber as he walked up and placed a clawed hand his shoulder. Sonic looked up at the moons above again for a few seconds, then curled his legs into his chest and rested his head on his arms.

"I just can't shake the feeling that something is not right about this plan tomorrow. It feels like we're being drawn into a trap of some kind," said Sonic.

"I know what you mean. But then again, Slasher helped plan the whole thing, so she would know if something was amiss," said Saber, trying to reassure both himself and Sonic at the same time as Sonic reached down and threw another rock into the pool, watching the ripples like he had been doing since he had come out here nearly an hour ago.

"It's not Leviathan's involvement in the planning that has me worried, but it's more that fact that he wasn't at all surprised to see us when we met him earlier today," said Sonic. Saber frowned slightly.

"I know what you mean. It was if he knew we were already there, like he had been expecting us," said Saber.

"Then again, if someone had told him outside of the hut that we were in there, then he wouldn't be surprised at all about us being in there," said Sonic.

"True. That's probably what happened, seeing how nothing goes on around Knothole without everyone knowing about it," said Saber. Letting out a small yawn, Sonic got to his feet, stretching his legs and arms in the process.

"Well, sleepless nights are no way to be ready for a mission like this one. I think it would be best if we head on back and get some rest," said Sonic.

"Good idea. I'm surprised Slasher hasn't come looking for me yet. I was supposed to be back almost an hour ago," said Saber as the two friends headed back towards the village. As they walked out of sight of the pool, Slasher came out from the underbrush she had been hidden in. She had been following Saber for the last two hours as the raptor had burnt off some stress running about the forest. But what had happened in the last few minutes actually had the winged raptor smiling. _He's become more mature in the last week than even I though he could become in a year, as well as getting better at his natural skills. I think he'll do just fine tomorrow,_ she thought to herself before taking to the air towards Knothole to get some sleep herself.

************************************

The cool morning breeze blew through Sonic's quills, the air having a slight salty smell to it as he rode on back of Slasher. They had been the second group to head out, Leviathan's group having already left before the crack of dawn. He sighed, wondering if Cody and the others were up to the task at hand. While he was reasonably sure that Tails and Lily had experience fighting whichever one of the mecha bots was stationed in Robotropolis, he couldn't help but worry about the three time travelers. Sure, Cody would have some experience if it was Metal Sonic. But if it was Silver Sonic, then he'd be going in blind. And both Drake and Saber had no prior run in with either of the two bots before.

"Don't you worry," said a reassuring voice from in front of him. "I'm sure they'll be just fine."

"What do you mean? I'm not worried," said Sonic. A chuckle followed his comment, the raptor's head turning back towards him.

"You can't fool me Sonic. You have worry written all over your face," she said. Giving him a smile before she turned back towards her front, she added, "Plus, your slightly faster breathing gave it away."

"Well, for their sake, I hope you're right," he said as Slasher flew into a group of clouds, obscuring the view for a few moments before she broke through the top layer of the formation. Then he saw it in the distance, floating high in the sky right where he remembered it being the first time he had been to it. "There it is, Floating Island."

"Amazing how it just floats there, as if nothing were holding it up except the clouds," commented Slasher as she flew towards the island.

"Same thing I thought when I first saw it," said Sonic as Slasher reached the edge of the massive chunk of floating land. "Be careful. No telling what surprises might pop out at us." Slasher nodded as she landed on the sandy beach on the east edge of the island.

"So where do you think Knuckles would be at?" she asked as Sonic dismounted, responding with merely a shrug.

"I wouldn't have a clue to be honest. We never really got to know each other all that well in the few months since we met. Not surprising though when you think about it. The guy's a little too serious for me," he said. He then smiled as he started walking in-land. "But there is one thing I know about him that is sure to bring him to us. All we have to do is get near the Master Emerald and I'm sure he'll come running." Slasher only nodded, not quite sure what Sonic was talking about, but knowing that he knew what he was doing.

"Then lead on. You know this place better than I do," she said as the two started into the thick jungle, unaware of the pair of emerald green eyes watching them from their hiding place in the thick underbrush.

****************************************

"So tell me again whose bright idea it was to get into Robotropolis through the sewer system?" asked an angry Lily, cringing at the feel of the sewage against the fur on her legs.

"It was the safest route to use," said Tails. "Would you rather have velocibots stalking us or be spotted by a surveillance orb and ruin the plan?"

"No, but I doubt I'll ever get the smell out of my boots and I can't stand the feel of this goop sticking to the fur on my legs," she complained. Drake looked back at Lily from his place on Cody's head, wondering why girls always seemed to have a problem with things that smelled bad.

"A small price to pay to get the Timestone from whichever mecha bot is up there," said Tails.

"In your mind, perhaps," she muttered to herself. Cody smiled as he listened to the two of them argue back and forth. He was glad that she had managed to survive in this horrific mirror world, though she was definitely more into fighting than the Lily he knew. The thought of his own Lily brought a scowl to his face. He hated the thought that this world's Lily had gone through all the emotional pain she did over losing her version of him. He would make that raptor pay for what he had put her through, regardless if he had changed or not. As soon as they had all the Timestones in their possession, he would make sure to put the mechanical beast in its place once and for all and prevent him from ever causing her to feel such pain.

"Are you all right Cody?" asked Lily, noticing the frown on his face. Regaining his composure, he turned back to her with a smile on his face.

"I'm all right. Just anxious to kick the tail of the mecha bot up there," he lied. Lily knew he was lying to her. He never was good at hiding things from her, but she decided to let it go. Some things just weren't worth prying about. After a few more minutes of walking, Tails came to a stop below a sewer grate.

"This should lead directly into the lower substations just outside of the Command Center, right?" asked Tails, looking over at Cody.

"Unless Robotnik rebuilt the sewer system for sheer pleasure, it should," he answered. Tails couldn't help but smile at the comment as he climbed the ladder leading to the grate.

"That guy wouldn't waste his time with something as trivial as this," he said as he lifted the grate out of its resting place. As he lifted himself out of the sewer below, he suddenly felt a cold object touch his fur. Turning around, he came face to face with the barrel of a laser rifle held by one of six Swatbots. A much shorter person stood in the middle, wearing a bright green shirt with dark green pants while having a brown cloak draped around him. "Of course, I could be wrong," he said as he raised his hands.

"It would appear we managed to catch five little vermin scurrying about through the sludge. Still, it does feel nice to have guests after all this time," said Snively as the group was brought out of the sewers by the Swatbots.

************************************

"So how much further is it?" asked Slasher she carried Sonic up the side of a cliff inside of Lava Reef. While she hardly ever lost her patience, being inside of a volcano wasn't exactly the way to keep ones cool. Her cold-blooded body could only stand so much heat before she would begin to feel the effects of heat exhaustion, and eventually collapse from it.

"Not much further," said Sonic as the duo made their way up the side of the cliff. _Boy, this brings back memories, _he thought as he remembered his and Tails' adventure in Lava Reef all those months ago. In fact, it was the same cliff side that they had found the final ring teleporter that had taken them to Hidden Palace so they could activate the Super Emeralds.

"Hold on," said Slasher, stopping in her tracks.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking around. Slasher hushed him before looking around the area below them intently. After ten seconds, she shook her head, then headed on her way back up the side of the cliff. "What was it?"

"Thought I heard something," she said, then gave a shrug as she finally reached the top of the cliff, landing and letting Sonic off. "Then again, it was probably just the heat playing tricks on me." As the two of them headed towards the tunnel that lead into Hidden Palace, Slasher kept cocking and bobbing her head, trying to see if she could hear the sound she thought she had heard earlier, but to no avail. As they slowly walked up the incline inside the lava rock tunnel, the dull reddish colored glow from the lava lake behind them slowly began to fade away and be replaced by a much softer turquoise glow from the other end of the passageway.

Sonic's mind drifted back to his and Knuckles' first real fight. He and Tails had just reached about the three quarters mark of the incline when Knuckles had appeared at the top of the tunnel just before tossing a huge boulder at them. Sonic couldn't help but smile to himself as he remember the look of pure surprise and shock on the echidna's face when he had stopped in mid-run, turned around and transformed for the first time into Hyper Sonic. After stopping the boulder, he had then confronted Knuckles, changing back to normal to have a fair fight against him that had ended in a draw when Tails had used the Chaos Emeralds to transform into his own super form and had the Power Flickies break the two of them up.

***************************************

"I think now would be a good time to get started," whispered Tails as the six Swatbots led him and the others to cells in the high security area of the Command Center. Cody only smiled as he raised his shackled hands towards the Swatbot in the front of the group. The lead Swatbot never saw the blast coming as Cody fired his wrist laser into its back. Everyone then dove to the floor as he then turned in a three hundred and sixty degree circle, blasting the other five Swatbots guarding them. Taking the keys from the first Swatbot he'd shot, he undid his shackles, then the others before handing the blue emerald back to Drake with a small curse at himself for not remembering he couldn't touch the emerald without getting a painful bit of feedback from its energy.

"That turned out pretty well, considering we weren't killed on the spot," said Saber.

"Yeah, but Snively isn't one to pass up torturing people first and then throwing them into the Roboticizer. The time it takes for him to go from capture till roboticization has been one of the few things that has let us rescue some people over the years," said Tails as he took his crossbow and quiver from the Swatbot carrying them. "Now let's go get that Timestone."

************************************

"So do you think he'll be in there waiting on us?" asked Slasher, bringing Sonic out of his daydream and back to reality. He then frowned when he noticed that she had a point. So far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened, and they hadn't seen a trace of Knuckles yet.

"Not sure. Frankly, I'd have figured him to already be on top of us for being this close to the sanctuary," he answered. As the two of them finally reached the exit to the passageway, the soft turquoise glow was now several times brighter as they came within a direct line of sight with the crystal formations along the cavern walls that lined the Hidden Palace sanctuary as well as the pedestal that the Master Emerald sat upon, its glow cascading throughout the cavern.

"It's beautiful," commented Slasher as she took in the sight of the brilliant crystals and the enormous green emerald set in the middle of the whole view. Sonic also stopped to take his first good look at the sanctuary, having realized that during his one time in here before he had been so preoccupied that he hadn't taken any time to enjoy the scenery.

"That it is," he agreed as they slowly started walking deeper into the cavern, taking in all the wondrous sights the palace offered. As they came closer to the pedestal that the Master Emerald was resting upon, Sonic noticed that the other seven pedestals that held the Super Emeralds were barren, having never been activated in this timeline. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness at this thought, but he couldn't tell why he did. As the two of them came close enough to the Master Emerald's pedestal to literally reach out and touch it, however, his sadness quickly turned to annoyance. "Hey knucklehead, come on out and fight me!" he hollered out, looking around the sanctuary for any kind of response. Slasher was also scanning the cavern for any sign of the crimson echidna, but nothing answered Sonic's challenge.

"Do you think someone got to him before we came?" asked Slasher, turning to look back at the Master Emerald.

"Not a clue. This is all pretty freaky if you ask me," he answered as he scratched the inside of his left ear with his left pinky. It was only due to the fact that his hand was slightly cupping his ear while he was scratching it that he managed to hear the approach of someone from behind, quickly leaping up and forward as he felt something slash the air just where he had been standing. He then landed next to Slasher who had also turned back to see who had attacked them. "About time you showed up Knux," said Sonic smugly as he turned around to face his attacker, but his smug attitude changed to one of surprise when he saw who it was standing before him.

While it was definitely an echidna that now stared back at the cerulean hedgehog, it was most definitely not Knuckles. That much was evident by the fact that this echidna was not a boy, but rather a girl. She appeared to Sonic to be in her late teens and although she didn't look quite as muscle bound as Knuckles was, she still had a physique of someone that worked out quite regularly. Her eyes were a dark green, almost matching Sonic's own eyes. Her fur was bright pink, as well as the nine dreadlocks that flowed down to about her waist. Each of her dreadlocks was decorated with three white cloth bands that appeared at equal intervals around each dreadlock. Her hair was the same color as her fur aside from the three large tufts of her bangs that were also white like her dreadlocks' bands. She wore a bright green tank top with matching green shorts, as well as a pair of matching green boots with white highlights. Strapped around her shoulder was a black scabbard while in her hands she held a long sword of superior craftsmanship. The dual-edged blade was a gleaming silver color with the grip of the hilt a dark brown, the pommel and cross-guard a polished gold, and set in the middle of the cross-guard was a large, brilliant ruby.

"After all this time, I never would have expected that you would come to me," said the echidna with a soft, yet strong feminine voice as she gripped the hilt of her sword tighter.

"What on Mobius are you talking about?" asked Sonic, completely lost as to what the echidna meant by that comment. The echidna then turned her stare towards Slasher.

"You stay out of this reptile. This is between just the two of us," she said. Slasher glanced down at Sonic, who just nodded, indicating that it would be better if she did stay out of the fight. The girl then charged forward, raising her sword back to land a strike at Sonic's head. But Sonic just zipped out of the way, the echidna's sword only going through air. Without missing a beat, however, the girl turned towards where she had seen Sonic run to. He was leaning up against one of the Super Emerald pedestals, calmly scratching at the same itch in his ear that she had interrupted him from getting rid of earlier.

"Not too bad. There aren't a lot of people that can follow me like that," he said calmly as he picked a piece of earwax off his pinky. He then looked over at the echidna. "So why do you have a beef with me anyways? I haven't met you before." The girl tensed up before lunging from her spot, pulling her sword back to impale the blue hedgehog. But just as before, Sonic dodged at the last second as the blade passed through thin air once again. This time, though, Sonic had his fill of her aggressive attitude. He began to run around her, quickly picking up speed as he watched her try to follow his movements. However, it was obvious that even she couldn't keep up with him moving at nearly five hundred miles per hour in a tight circle around her and still picking up speed.

As the girl tried to get a bead on Sonic, she was suddenly picked up as the air around her became like that of a twister, lifting her up off the lava rock floor of the cavern. Sonic then quickly bent the upward flow of the mini twister he'd created, launching the surprised echidna out of the wind vortex and sailing back first right into the Master Emerald pedestal hard enough to jar the sword from her grasp and leave her somewhat stunned.

"That was a little rough, wasn't it?" asked Slasher as Sonic came to a stop next to her.

"Maybe I did over do it just a little," he said as he knelt down next to the echidna as she slowly began to recover from the blow to the back of her head and spine. She held a hand up to her head, trying to ease the dizziness she felt after getting spun around so fast in such a short amount of time. As her blurred vision started to clear up, she looked right into the face of Sonic, jumping back almost instinctively and banging her head a second time against the stone surface of the pedestal. She kept her eyes squinted though as several awkward seconds ticked by before she slowly opened one to see Sonic still looking back at her.

"What's wrong? What are you waiting for? Do it," she said.

"Do what?" he asked, puzzlement evident in his voice. At this, she opened her other eye and stared back at him. Several more seconds ticked by, neither of them moving an inch as the echidna's green eyes stared unblinking into Sonic's own eyes.

"Those eyes…they're…different than his," she said softly as her tense body relaxed somewhat.

"Than whose eyes?" asked Sonic, once again stumped by the echidna's words. The girl just shook her head.

"It's nothing. I-I'm…sorry I attacked you without being sure of whom it was I was fighting," she said, finally breaking her gaze away from Sonic's own. Sonic merely smiled as he got back up on his feet, offering her a hand. But the echidna instead brushed it away, getting up on her own before walking over to where her sword lay on the rock flooring. She picked it up and slid it into the scabbard on her back before turning back towards the other two.

"It would seem we all got off on the wrong foot," said Slasher as she stepped forward. "I would like this encounter to have a better start to it. As such, allow me to introduce myself. I am Slasher. A pleasure to meet you Miss..." With that she extended a clawed hand towards the echidna girl, who once again chose to not acknowledge the gesture.

"Angel," said the echidna, finishing the raptor's sentence. "Angel Starfire to be accurate, but my last name really doesn't hold a lot of meaning for anyone besides myself anymore."

"Why's that?" asked Sonic, raising an eyebrow.

"That would be none of your business hedgehog," she hissed at him, glaring at him with a look that could kill.

"Now mistress, please don't be so harsh with him. He was only asking you a simple question," said a fairly high pitched female voice behind Sonic which made him jump out of his skin with a yell. Turning around, he came face to face with a violet chao with two jester-like dreadlocks coming off her head, a patch of red tipped golden feathers for her bangs, and her wings were made of the same feathers as her bangs only their wingspan was easily as long as she was tall if not longer. The chao then flew over Sonic's head to come to hover along side of Angel

"Still, he shouldn't be nosy when it comes to someone else," said Angel. The chao merely nodded before landing on Angel's shoulder. "And this would be my chao Comet. Say hello."

"Hello, it's nice to meet both of you," said Comet, giving a polite bow of her head towards Sonic and Slasher.

"Nice to meet you, too. And by the way, the name's Sonic," said Sonic in response.

"Whatever," said Angel, turning away from him and towards Slasher, who noticed that Sonic hadn't taken the brush off very well which was evident by his hands curling into fists. "So what exactly brings the two of you here anyways? As far as I knew, no one aside from my kind even knows of the existence of the Floating Island. Yet not only did you know where to look for it, you also knew where to find the Master Emerald."

"It's a long story. I would be happy to tell it to you if you have the time," said Slasher. Angel merely shrugged.

"If there's one thing I've got plenty of, its time," she said.

****************************

The shrill hunting cry of five velocibots filled the polluted air of one of Robotropolis' streets as they chased after Tails, Cody, and Drake, each one firing laser blasts from their eyes as they tried to lock on long enough to land a hit. The five of them had split up, leaving Lily and Saber behind to try and sneak into the main building. They were both good at being stealthy and had the best chance of the five of them to make it inside and find the Timestone. The other three were given the job of being their diversion as they made it inside, but now they were beginning to wonder if it had been such a good idea to do that.

"You know," cried Cody as he flew alongside Tails and Drake. "We could've at least tried not to attract this many of them!"

"How could I have known they would respond so fast!" yelled Tails, barely missing being shot by a laser bolt as he skillfully did a mid-air three sixty twist to the left without losing any control.

**********************************

"You sure you know where we're going?" asked Saber as he crept down one of the darker hallways of the Command Center. Lily was now riding atop him, as Saber was better suited for being quiet on his feet. She had her small, personal blaster drawn through just incase they ran into any kind of trouble that required force, but so far the two of them had managed to avoid detection. This had her worried to some degree. If they had seen even the smallest sign of security she wouldn't be this on edge, but the fact that they had seen none at all was eating at her. And what really had her nervous was the fact that during the whole operation they had not seen a single worker bot. Normally the building was full of them scurrying about to perform the various tasks that had been burned into their AI matrixes during the roboticization process and it was this observation that was making her start to sweat.

"I'm sure. Nicole, how close are we to the Timestone?" she asked the miniature computer.

"_Energy signal of the Timestone is approximately thirty meters straight ahead, 5 meters above,_" said the small computer.

"You can't possibly expect it to be unguarded, do you?" asked Saber. Lily shook her head before dropping off Saber's back as he stopped in front of a turbo lift.

"No way. Something that valuable wouldn't be left unprotected," she said, placing Nicole up against the keypad used to enter the code to enter the control room. "Nicole, run decryption sequence. Enter code once decryption has been obtained."

"_Processing…_" said Nicole as she began beeping rapidly as her software worked to decode the encrypted sequence of numbers and letters that activated the lift. Slowly random letters and numbers began lighting up along the small screen above the keypad as the code was cracked. As the final digit locked into place, the door swung open, Lily quickly training the blaster back and forth, expecting at the very least for there to be a couple of Swatbots waiting for them inside the lift.

"I don't like this one bit," she said as the two of them entered the lift, the door closing behind them.

"I know what you mean. It's been way too quiet," said Saber in agreement.

"I say we be ready to attack first and ask questions later," said Lily as she trained her blaster on the door as it came to a stop. Saber nodded as he took a crouching stance, ready to pounce on the first Swatbot or velocibot he laid eyes on. Slowly, Lily reached out and put her hand on the door's open switch. "On my mark. Three, two, one, go!" she cried, pushing the button as the door swung open. But only the darkness of the control room greeted the two of them, the room completely empty. A single window that spanned half of the back wall let in little of the sunlight, though most of it was being blocked by the pollution of the city outside. Various computer screens showing different areas of the city also helped to illuminate some of the room.

"Well, this is something I'd never have suspected," said Saber as he stuck his head into the room, sniffing slightly.

"I know," said Lily as she took Nicole out of her vest's other pocket. "You sure this is the right place?"

"_Affirmative. Timestone energy signal now within ten meters of current location,_" said Nicole. Pocketing the small computer, Lily cautiously walked into the command center, blaster ready to fire at a moment's notice. Suddenly, the lights on the ceiling came to life, revealing Snively sitting in a large, remote controlled revolving chair at the top of a small flight of stairs at the far end of the room.

"You!" cried Saber, snarling at the human. Lily raised her blaster towards Snively, but the small man made no attempt to get out of the way. In fact, his head was limping towards the ground, like he had fallen asleep.

"What in the-" was all Lily got out before Snively fell face forward to the floor. Only then did the two of them see the clawed remains of what used to be the human's backside.

"He was of no use to me anymore," said a monotone robotic voice. Both of them looked up, straight into a pair orange, fly-like eyes glowing against the back-light from the windows behind the robot they belonged to. Saber crouched down, growling as he readied himself for an attack. The robot ignored the raptor as he walked down the flight of stairs the chair was atop.

"Who are you?" asked Saber. The robot still ignored Saber, reaching the bottom of the stairs before looking up at the two of them, eyes glowing like flames in a fire.

"The true question is who you are?" said the robot, eyes taking in the raptor. "I thought your species had been exterminated, but apparently there are still a few we missed."

"What do you mean 'exterminated'?" asked Saber. The robot looked intrigued by this question.

"A velociraptor not knowing about the fate of its species. How very odd indeed," said the robot. "To have his whole race killed by my master and not even realize it. A true enigma in itself." The robot then took a few steps closer, walking into the light in front of him. It stood about a foot taller than Sonic, its body covered in glimmering silver metal. Six metal quills in two rows of three ran down its back, spinning like a chain saw's teeth every few seconds through a slit down the backside of its frame, then back up along another slit, the quills rotating to follow the path they took. Its feet were shaped like sneakers, painted bright red with a white stripe in the middle. Two wheels were attached to the backsides of both feet.

"So we finally meet in person, Silver Sonic. To think that you are the true leader of this city is something I'd have never guessed," said Lily, recognizing the figure standing in front of her. She had only seen pictures of the lethal mecha bot, but she knew full well not to take him lightly. No one had ever fought with any of the mecha bots and lived to tell the tale.

"So you know who I am? Not surprising," said Silver Sonic. "I know you as well, Lily Griffor of the Knothole Freedom Fighters. As to your comment about myself being the one leading this city, that has only just started within the last few minutes to be honest."

"So you decided to rebel against Snively then? I can't say I blame you," she said with a slight smirk. Silver Sonic's face, however, remained as stoic as it was when he had first appeared.

"Indeed. I was originally created without any self awareness, unlike the one you call Metal Sonic, but over the years my AI matrix eventually gained self awareness as it continued to be fed input. I decided that it would be best to keep such information to myself until I determined if it was wise to reveal my newfound existence. As I learned of my surroundings, I began to realize that the human I was stationed under was not competent enough to lead this city. As such I began to bide my time till the right moment to take it from him and claim it for myself," said Silver Sonic.

"So you were just waiting for the stakes to get high enough before you played your hand and our little strike today was just what you were waiting for," said Lily, training her blaster on him.

"Your escape of the human's so-called 'elite' security force left him angry and befuddled. It was then that I decided it was time to end my farce and take my proper place as ruler of this city. To be honest, my true master had long ago allowed me to undertake this action whenever I chose to do so. Considering that all of the major leaders of the Knothole Freedom Fighters are now present inside the city limits, it was the perfect time to strike. Your hit and run tactics might have slowed down this city's progression over the years, but that is only because Snively tolerated your existence for his own amusement. I, however, will not tolerate it anymore," said Silver Sonic, suddenly shooting forward from his spot, the wheels on the back of his feet propelling him forward. Saber leapt forward, still having remained in his crouched position during the short exchange. But before he could pounce, Silver Sonic curled into a ball of steel, rolling under Saber while in mid-air. With a quick spin of his quills, Silver Sonic reversed his momentum, shooting back at Saber, slamming full force into the raptor, knocking him forward and out through the window.

"Saber!" cried Lily as she rushed to the window, watching as the raptor fell towards the ground seven stories below. But before he could hit, he was snatched up by both Cody and Drake. Returning her attention to Silver Sonic, she raised her blaster towards him as he uncurled from his mock spindash state.

"Not even worth my time," was all the mecha bot said before turning towards Lily. "And you, my little peach, are next." Lily fired three shots from the blaster, but Silver Sonic merely held up a hand, the blasts bouncing off his reinforced armor hull, blowing chunks from the walls as they hit them instead of him. "Now that wasn't very nice," he said, advancing towards her. But before he could reach her, she was scooped up by Cody, Drake providing cover by blasting a breath of fire at Silver Sonic. The mecha bot, not ready for the attack, shrank back from the heat as it started to soften some of his hull where less armor covered it. He cursed to himself as the fire stopped, leaving him alone in the lab once again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The last of the five velocibots sniffed the air, craning its neck as it searched for Tails. The other four had been dispatched by Cody and Drake, both taking out two of them while they bought time for the others. But when Cody had seen Saber crash through one of the windows of the Command Center building, he had taken Drake to catch him, leaving Tails alone to deal with the last one. Now, the lone metal raptor walked among the piles of trashed robot parts, trying to find his target.

"That's right. Come a little closer," whispered Tails as he raised his crossbow in line with the robot's head. The velocibot took a few more steps, sweeping its head back and forth, scanning the area with its sniper scope-like red eyes. The robot suddenly cried out as Tails' arrow hit home, spearing its head and frying it with a blast of electricity. "Got ya!" he cried as he rose from his hiding spot.

"Nice shot!" hollered Drake as he and Cody returned with Lily in tow. A wounded Saber limped behind them, a gash cut in his left leg from where Silver Sonic's quills had slashed him.

"You okay?" asked Tails. Saber gave a nod, pain evident in his expression.

"Sure. Just a scratch," said the raptor, trying not to show his discomfort.

"Don't even try to make it sound better than it is," said Tails as he bent down to examine the injured leg. After a few seconds of looking the wound over, he gave a whistle. "You were lucky. He only managed to cut about half an inch into the skin. Any deeper and he might have hit something vital. Just don't move around too much or you'll make it worse."

"So what do we do now?" asked Lily as she looked around.

"How about duck!" cried Drake as he dove to the ground. Not waiting to find out the reason, everyone dropped to the ground, Silver Sonic crashing onto the ground in spindash-mode just barely a foot in front of them. Silver Sonic rolled along the ground, coming to a stop about fifty feet away. He slowly uncurled, standing up to his full height as he turned around to face them.

"You are only delaying the inevitable," said Silver Sonic as he stared down the five friends, his quills spinning along his back, making a horrible buzz saw noise as they did so.

"Just try us," said Tails as he aimed his crossbow at Silver Sonic. But before he could even get a bead on the mecha bot, Cody placed a hand on the bow, pushing it down.

"No Tails. He's mine," said Cody as his claws extended from their place in his fingertips.

"You must be crazy!" cried Tails as he looked up at Cody. "He'll rip you apart! I won't just sit-." Cody glared down at Tails, clawed hand over fox's mouth.

"That's enough," said Cody. His normally friendly yellow eyes had become several shades darker than normal. He was angry, and Tails could tell it. "If this piece of mechanical trash wants to fight, then I'll give him one. I don't want any more of you getting hurt if we can avoid it. Being a robian, I can take a lot more punishment than someone that's just flesh and blood."

"You may be a robian, but that doesn't mean you're a match for him," said Tails.

"Perhaps, but part of me wants to do this. I might be crazy, but I want to believe I was given this advanced robian body for a reason. And that reason was so I could stand up to something like Silver Sonic when it really counts," said Cody. Tails wanted to say something to detour Cody's one man army mentality that he seemed to have adopted out of nowhere, but he also could see the passion burning behind Cody's eyes, even if there were just rings of lights behind a sheet of glass.

"I suppose there's no point in trying to stop you then. Go for it. I'll have your back if things get too far out of hand," he said with a smile. Eyes returning to their normal shade of color, Cody gave him a thumbs up.

"You bet," he said. He then returned his attention to Silver Sonic, who was watching them with interest.

"You are truly a work of art, robian," said Silver Sonic as Cody walked slowly but confidently out into the middle of the street. "Risking your own existence to prove a point." Cody didn't even see the blow coming. Having used the time Cody had been talking to Tails, Silver Sonic had powered up the wheels on his feet, enabling him to shoot forward twice as fast as when he had rushed Saber and Lily in the command center, delivering a full body blow to the robian. Cody flew back to the ground, but flipped backwards onto his feet. Firing his foot thrusters, Cody shot into the air, dodging Silver Sonic has he passed by underneath him.

"Man he's fast!" said Cody to himself as he watched the mecha bot pass by just below him. While Silver Sonic was quick, he was also bulky, weighing him down and making it hard to turn or stop. This was evident when the mecha bot had to make a small semicircle in the roadway to come to a stop facing towards Cody, who smiled as an idea came to mind. Landing in front of an abandoned warehouse, he watched as Silver Sonic turned to follow his movement.

"You are quite agile when you need to be," said Silver Sonic.

"And your quicker on your feet that I figured you would be considering how big you are," said Cody. He then crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the building. "Think your fast enough to hit me if I stood right here?" Silver Sonic's head cocked slightly at the statement. He knew Cody was fast enough to evade him if he charged. So why even try and get him to do so? His head returned to its proper position when the answer hit him.

"Perhaps…We shall see," said Silver Sonic. But instead of using the wheels on his feet to propel himself, he instead curled up into his spindash-mode. Cody watched with concern as Silver Sonic shot forward at him, rapidly closing the gap between the two of them.

_What are you up to mecha bot?_ thought Cody to himself as Silver Sonic came barreling towards him. Not waiting to find out, Cody took to the air again, Silver Sonic slamming full force into the building, going right through the wall. Cody watched with caution as the dust settled below. Suddenly, Silver Sonic shot up through the roof of the building, slamming right into Cody's chest, the metal quills slicing into his armor. Cody fell towards the ground, but pulled out at the last second, clutching his chest where several wires protruded from his body and broken circuits smoldered as he flew away from the building, landing a few hundred yards away. A quick systems check through his AI matrix told him he had gotten lucky. The attack had missed his vital circuitry. He watched as Silver Sonic uncurled and dropped to the ground twenty yards away. _Darn him! He didn't even scratch himself! _thought Cody as he looked over Silver Sonic's body.

"I will give you credit for your effort, but it's not all just brawn under this metal hull. I saw through your little trick of making me crash into the wall unprotected," said Silver Sonic, waving a claw at Cody. Cody gritted his metal teeth, wondering what to do. Silver Sonic's hull seemed to be incredibly resilient to being hit with any object so long as he remained in his spindash-mode. Even when he wasn't curled into a ball, his armor plating was much thicker than that of Metal Sonic, making it hard to inflict damage even then.

"Do you think he can beat him?" asked Drake as he watched the fight.

"I don't know Drake," said Lily. "Cody's got the edge in the air since Silver Sonic can't fly, but on the ground, Silver Sonic's the quicker of the two. It could go either way." Back at the fight, Cody was running through his list of options, and was starting to run out of them fast.

"Well, let's try this one," said Cody under his breath as he charged Silver Sonic, claws outstretched to slash him. Silver Sonic watched with interest as the smaller robot hedgehog ran at him. But before he was even halfway to meeting him, Cody shot into the air. Silver Sonic followed his movement while pondering the robian's cross of action. The answer came a second later when several laser bolts suddenly came raining down from the sky. Silver Sonic, unprepared for such an attack, was knocked backwards as several of the shots hit home, putting several dents in his thick armor. However, none of the blasts managed to penetrate the armor plating, leaving the mecha bot only a little beat up, but otherwise completely intact. _Darn it! Doesn't anything get through that metal shell of his?_ thought Cody. Silver Sonic corrected his balance before looking up at Cody.

"Another wasted attempt to do some damage, I see," he said. "Too bad I'm built like a tank." Cody only clenched his fists together. Nothing seemed to hurt his guy! His head suddenly shot up as he realized something. He hadn't tried fighting hand-to-hand with Silver Sonic yet. It was then that the obvious hit him. Silver Sonic had been built to fight with Sonic, a person who excelled at hit and run attacks. Sonic rarely stayed in close confines with his enemies, choosing rather to use his speed to stay out of their reach until he attacked. Smiling to himself as a new course of action came to mind, Cody landed a block away from the mecha bot, who was eyeing him with interest.

"I must admit that you are superior to me in several ways, but there's one area where I think I might have you beaten," said Cody, tensing up.

"And what area would that be?" asked the mecha bot. Cody's inward smile surfaced on his face.

"This!" he cried, his thrusters firing full blast as he shot at Silver Sonic. Taken by surprise from this kind of action, Silver Sonic had no time to even raise his own arms up to block the charging hedgehog. Slamming full force into the mecha bot, Cody had no problem tackling him to the ground. He then brought his left hand crashing into Silver Sonic's chest, piercing the thick armor with his tempered steel claws. Silver Sonic grabbed Cody's arm and tried to pull it off him, but leverage was on Cody's side, and the mecha bot couldn't remove the claws from him. Suddenly, Cody was knocked off as Silver Sonic's quills spun out underneath the two combatants, spinning the mecha bot in place and flinging Cody off of him into a pile of trashed robot parts.

"Close…very close," said Silver Sonic as he got back to his feet. Cody shot from the trash pile, looking over the damage he had inflicted to Silver Sonic from his attack from the safety of the air. Several small holes dotted the left side of his chest, but other than that, he couldn't see any other form of damage. But his theory had been right. Silver Sonic wasn't built to handle close combat like he was.

"Let's finish this," said Cody as he landed a few meters away from Silver Sonic.

"Let's," replied the mecha bot as he shot forward, wheels peeling out behind him. But Cody didn't try to dodge this time. Instead, he held his ground as the five hundred pound robot barreled towards him. Digging his feet into the soil, Cody took the charge head on, hands grasping onto Silver Sonic's mid-section as he was pushed back from the force of the hit. Dirt piled up behind him as Cody tried to hold his ground, Silver Sonic's wheels squealing as he tried to run him over.

"I…won't…lose! Not to…a machine…like you!" cried Cody as he summoned a final burst of strength, digging his claws into Silver Sonic's sides and lifting him over his head, pile driving him headfirst into the ground. Lifting himself back to his feet, he turned to see Silver Sonic slowly recovering from the attack. The two largest quills were bent out of shape, and his eyes flickered on and off.

"You will pay for that!" cried Silver Sonic, losing his composure for the first time during the fight. Not even caring about strategy anymore, Silver Sonic rushed Cody, his own claws slashing at the smaller robot, Cody dodging each one skillfully. But while he could dodge Silver Sonic's attacks easily, he still didn't know how to inflict enough damage to take him out of the fight. Then an idea came to him. It was risky, and it might cause damage to himself as well, but it was the only thing he could think of that might have a change of working. Dodging another swipe, Cody swung his right foot around, kicking Silver Sonic in the side and off-balance. He then followed through with a hard left hook, knocking the mecha bot onto his back.

_I hope this works,_ thought Cody to himself as he flew high up into the air, coming to a stop a good hundred feet above the city streets. As Silver Sonic struggled to get back on his feet, Cody held both arms straight up above his head, placing both of his palms together at the base and curling his fingers, making his hands look like the jaws of a mechanical beast. He then leaned forward, allowing his weight to throw him into a rapid decent while at the same time he began twirling his body as fast as he could. _Let's see how much you like Knuckles' little trick with my own little twist at the end,_ thought Cody as he barreled down at the mecha bot below, pulling up at the last second with his thrusters so that he was now pointed perpendicular with Silver Sonic. As the mecha bot got back on his feet and looked up to seek out his foe, he was greeted with a powerful hit as Cody slammed head-on into him, his twirling motion creating a powerful drill-like action with his tempered claws, allowing them to literally burrow right through Silver Sonic's thick armor plating.

The others watched with amazement as Cody's body passed right through the mecha bot, shredding a gaping hole right through his chest plate as Cody hit the ground hard, rolling along the ground for several rotations before finally coming to a stop, a disbelieving smile plastered on his face as he lay on his back. He could feel a couple of his quills bent out of shape and his claws felt like they had been dulled to little nubs, but he didn't care. His little stunt had actually worked. He'd have to remember to thank Knuckles for using the move in one of their sparring matches.

"Way to go!" cried Tails as he and the others emerged from their viewpoint, running over to congratulate the tired and battle-damaged Cody, Saber yelling out his own congratulations from where he was. Lily was the first to get to him, kneeling down to wrap her arms around him.

"Oh Cody, are you all right?" she asked near hysterics after seeing the robian take such a nasty spill at the end of the fight. Cody only laughed lightly as he sat up into a sitting position.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's times like that where I'm actually glad I have this robot body," he said, running one of his hands through the mangled quills on his back, wincing at the two really screwed up ones. "But it's going be a pain to straighten these out again."

"Nah…" said Tails, looking over the damage. "It just looks bad. I can get them looking as good as new in a couple hours."

"Thanks. I appreciate the help," said Cody as Lily helped him back to his feet.

"So now what do we do?" asked Lily, looking over at Tails.

"Well, I think the first thing we need to do is find the Timestone. Thing is I have no idea if the city's velocibots are still active or not now that the only two people that had any control over them directly are out of the picture. And if they are still actively patrolling the area, I really don't feel comfortable trying to get it till Sonic gets back," he answered. Tails then looked back at Saber, who was limping slowly over towards them. The gash on his leg still looked painful, but the initial bleeding had stopped. "What do you think Saber? Are any of them headed towards us?" Saber stopped mid-step and craned his head towards the sky, closing his eyes as he took a few whiffs of air. He cocked his head slightly to the left, trying to hear anything out of the ordinary. After several seconds, he opened his eyes and returned his gaze to Tails.

"If they are still active, they aren't around here. I don't hear or smell a single thing out of place," answered Saber as he started walking towards them again. But suddenly, something didn't feel right to the raptor as he came to a stop again. This time, he gave a much bigger sniff, his nose suddenly detecting a scent that had been subtly hidden just a second ago. And whatever the scent was, it was somewhat familiar. Then his eyes spotted a very small amount of movement from behind one of the trash piles only half of a block behind Tails.

Not even thinking about his pain-ridden leg, Saber shot forward, running in a mad dash right at Tails, who freaked out and dove to the ground in response to seeing Saber suddenly rush at him. The raptor then leapt into the air as well as his injury allowed him to, colliding in mid-air only five feet behind Tails with some sort of metallic creature. The two of them dropped like stones to the ground, Saber trying to pin whatever it was to the ground, but the creature quickly righted itself, jumping straight back from the male raptor a solid thirty feet. Saber quickly righted himself, facing towards the creature as he got his first good look at it.

While it definitely had the look of a velocibot, this creature was most certainly not one. It was covered from its tail to shoulders in glimmering violet metal with metal tubes running through its body in some places. Its chest was still tan flesh, but had two thick tubes running through it. Attached near the end of the tail was a giant three pronged clamp. Two small sheets of two inch thick metal that resembled the wings of a plane jutted from its shoulder blades. Its right eye was a beautiful emerald green while its left eye was replaced by a glowing red optic sensor set in an eye patch-like piece of blue metal. Around its neck was a pendant with a violet gemstone set inside it.

"Who are you?" asked Saber as he stared down the creature. The thing's only response was a loud snarl followed by a shrill cry before darting towards an alleyway two blocks down the street. Saber took off after the creature as it quickly rounded the corner of the alleyway. But by the time Saber reached it and had rounded the same corner, the creature was gone, having left no trace of itself behind at all. _What in the world was that thing?_ thought Saber as he continued to stare into the alleyway. Suddenly, the soft sound of beating wings caught his attention as he looked skyward, spotting Slasher heading towards them with not just one, but two riders on her back.

"There they are!" cried Sonic as he pointed down below. After having told Angel of their story, she had agreed to accompany them back to Knothole, but only to fight alongside them until the matter was resolved. Sonic could see that her dedication to protecting Floating Island was just as strong as Knuckles' was, and they had barely managed to convince her to help them out. Only by telling her that Robotnik would eventually come back to the island and take it had she come to terms with the situation.

"I see them," said Slasher as she floated down towards them. Comet flew along side her, having not said a word since the four of them had left the island, but looking rather somber for some odd reason.

"Hey guys!" called Sonic as he jumped off Slasher's back, dropping the rest of the way to the ground. He ran over to Cody, still lying on the ground. He winced as he noticed the slashed chest plate. "You okay there Cody?" Cody finally hauled himself into a sitting position.

"Yeah. Nothing too bad. Just got a taste of what it's like to be spindashed by something with metal quills," he replied. He then motioned with his head to the trashed Silver Sonic laying a few meters away from him. "He was a tough one to take out." Sonic whistled as he saw the thick skinned mecha bot lying on the pavement with a gaping hole in his chest, the protruding wires still sparking.

"You did a number on him. Took a trash compactor for me to take him down, and even then I was lucky," said Sonic as he helped Cody to his feet. He then walked over and examined Silver Sonic's remains a little closer. "How'd you manage to put a hole like that through him?"

"You remember that move Knuckles called a 'Drill Drive' he used during one of my sparring matches with him?" asked Cody. Sonic looked back at Cody with a cocked eyebrow.

"Yeah, but what does one of Knux moves have to do with that hole?" asked Sonic.

"Well, it wasn't a real good one, but I managed to pull off a kind of variation of that same move," he answered. He then felt his quills and frowned slightly at the mess they were in. "Though I don't think I'll try it again. It really messes up my quills. Not to mention my claws feel like nubs now." Sonic couldn't help but laugh when he noticed the twisted metal that was Cody's quills.

"Yeah, you might not want to. It's not a good look for you," said Sonic. Cody smirked, then turned around, only to come face to face with Angel's sword pointed right at his head.

"Don't move a gear," said Angel as she stared down Cody, who raised his hands up.

"Leave him alone Angel. He's one of us," said Sonic as he walked over and pushed the sword out of Cody's face. Angel narrowed her eyes before reluctantly putting the sword away.

"If you say so," she said, crossing her arms. Cody glanced over at Sonic.

"Friend of yours?" asked Cody. Sonic nodded.

"Yeah. Her name's Angel. Not exactly the friendly type, but she can definitely fight," said Sonic he walked back to the group. Cody watched him go, then extended his hand to Angel.

"Nice to meet you," said Cody. Angel looked at his hand, then back up at him.

"Sure it is," she said, turning her back to him and walking off to the other side of the clearing. Comet flew after her, looking back over her shoulder at Cody.

"That wasn't very nice mistress," said the small chao as she floated along side Angel.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking up at the chao as she sat down on an fairly big piece of old pipe sitting amongst the trash piles that were strung through the streets.

"You know what I mean. You were very rude to him," said Comet.

"Robots are all the same. Cold-hearted monsters that don't care about anyone," she replied with a cold tone. Comet sighed, then landed on the pipe and sat as well, watching everyone else from a distance. Lily watched her leave, then turned to Slasher.

"What's her deal?" she asked the winged raptor.

"She's not used to being around people yet. She's been living on Floating Island for several years without contact with anyone except for that chao over there. It's only natural that she would want to avoid us initially, if only to feel more at ease," said Slasher. "Give her a few days. I'm sure she'll become more social."

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to head home and get something to eat," said Sonic as his stomach growled.

"But we need to get the Timestone," said Tails, realizing that they had almost left without it.

"You mean this thing?" asked Drake, his voice somewhat muffled. Tails turned back towards where Drake's voice had come from, seeing the little chao's legs sticking out of the remains of Silver Sonic. Drake then withdrew himself from the trashed mecha bot, holding up a rather large yellow gemstone. While it resembled a Chaos Emerald, it didn't have the brilliant cut that they had. Rather, it was an emerald cut, giving it six sides with both the top and bottom being flat surfaced. Tails looked over at Sonic.

"Is that one of them?" he asked, unsure if it was considering that he had never seen one before now.

"Yeah, it sure is," answered Sonic, frowning as Drake flew over and gave him the gemstone. "Kinda weird that he'd keep it inside himself."

"Well, I can only guess that probably both mecha bots are running off these things," said Cody as he looked the Timestone over.

"You think so?" asked Tails.

"It would make sense. A power source that could run them without needing to recharge. The Chaos Emeralds wouldn't work since they would overload their systems, so it would make sense to use the Timestones instead since they don't have the same kind of electrical field the emeralds produce that short out electronics," said Cody.

"Well, either way we got what we came for, so I say we get out of here while we can," said Tails. He then looked over at Saber. "You gonna be okay to get back to Knothole?" Saber nodded, gingerly walking around in a circle slowly, trying to get the pain to subside somewhat. It was only somewhat successful, as his leg still felt like it was on fire. But he also knew it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle for a little while.

"Good. Then let's go," said Tails as the group began their trek through the city streets.

*********************************************

"You've got to be kidding me!?" cried Sonic as he, Slasher, Saber, Cody, Drake, and Tails sat inside Lily's hut. Lily shook her head slowly. After returning to Knothole, they had been greeted with the news that the third team had come under an attack that made Silver Sonic look like nothing.

"I'm afraid not. Leviathan has been destroyed and the entire group was wiped out, save for Jay, who brought that back with him," said Lily, looking at the twisted piece of metal that was what remained of Leviathan's collar sitting on the table in the middle of her hut.

"Is he all right?" asked Slasher.

"He's suffered a broken arm and is a bit shaken up, but other than that he's okay," she said. Sonic's head shook back and forth in his hands as he tried to take in what he had just heard.

"I just don't see how he could be destroyed," said Sonic. "I fought him once, and I know he can repair himself on the battlefield. How could they have stopped him?"

"I'm not sure," said Lily. "Jay said everything was going smoothly, but only a few minutes after they landed, everything broke into chaos. He managed to get to safety, but everyone else wasn't so lucky. Afterwards, he found Leviathan's collar and a few other parts of him smoldering among the wreckage of a hover-unit when he made a quick check before he left to see if anyone else had survived. My guess is that the hover-unit did a kamikaze run into Leviathan, blowing him to pieces."

"So that's it," said Tails, standing up out the chair he was seated at. "We're on our own now."

"Seems that way," said Lily. Tails gave a sigh, then turned to Slasher.

"You make that sound like a bad thing," said a voice from the window. Everyone turned to see Angel sitting on the window frame, arms wrapped around her knees with her head resting in them. She then turned, slid off the frame, and walked into the hut.

"How long have you been there?" asked Lily.

"Since we stated talking about this subject," said Slasher, who had witnessed her quiet entrance onto the windowsill and the conversation. Lily turned to Slasher, astonishment on her face.

"And you just let her sit there and listen?" she asked.

"She has a right to know, same as you or me," said Slasher. Lily sighed, knowing full well she had snapped without a cause to do so.

"You're right," she said before turning to Angel. "I am sorry for being angry at knowing you were listening. With Leviathan gone, I'm a little on edge about trusting new people. He could always tell if someone was legitimately on the level with us or not," Angel huffed, then shook her head.

"It's okay. I don't really care how you feel about my knowing or not," she said. "I just want to get this over with."

"There's still something that's been bugging me for a while now," said Lily. "Silver Sonic made a comment that he was surprised to see Saber, saying that the raptors had been killed some time ago. But if that's the case, what the heck was that thing that jumped us just before you guys showed up?" Saber suddenly gave a shrill cry in his own language, the first thing he had said since they had returned to Knothole. Not even waiting to see what anyone else did, he ran out of the hut, tail swishing back and forth in anger. Sonic watched him leave, then looked over at Slasher.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked. The older raptor shook her head.

"Isn't it obvious? Since he now knows that his friends and family are dead in this world, it has really upset him. He was not ready for this kind of thing," she replied, regret in her voice. She knew that he was upset, but he would have to find out how to deal with it on his own. She wanted to help, but he needed to learn how to deal with life's twists and turns without someone to take the pain away. At the window frame, Angel looked back to where the young raptor had left the hut, her body a little more tense than it had been a minute ago.

***************************************

Saber ran down the path that led out of Knothole and into the Great Forest's northern area, ignoring the pain that was shooting through his patched up leg. He sighed as he let some of the tension drain from his mind. Running always helped to calm him down when things got bad, but this was a whole new level of both anger and sadness to him. As he dashed past the last lamppost that signaled Knothole's boarders, he slowed to a stop, breathing a sigh as he let himself calm down somewhat.

"I also think running is a good way relieve tension," said the voice from somewhere above him. Instantly snapping to attention, Saber looked up into the trees, recognizing the voice as belonging to Comet.

"Where are you," asked Saber, still scanning the trees for the source of the voice.

"I'm right here," said Comet as she flew off a branch that had been thick enough to hide her body from view. She flew down to hover next to him. "You seem upset."

"Yeah…Finding out your home is now a place of death will do that to one's self," he replied, teeth clenching as he thought about it, his eyes turning away from the chao.

"That's terrible," said Comet, her mind drifting off to somewhere else for the briefest of seconds after hearing Saber's comment. Collecting herself, she then landed on Saber's muzzle, giving it a soft squeeze. She then looked up at him as she sat on his nose. "Will you be okay?" Saber sighed, then nodded his head slightly.

"I will be. It's just something I wasn't ready for," he replied. He then smiled and turned back towards the village. "Thanks for your concern." Comet cracked a slight smile.

"You are quite welcome," she said before she lowered her head, looking away from Saber's eyes. "I just wish there was more I could do…"

"Don't let it bother you," said Saber as he started walking again. "It's not your problem." Still, Comet's demeanor had become almost solemn.

"You have no idea how wrong you are…" she whispered to herself.

*****************************************

After a few days of recuperating, Saber's leg had healed enough that he no longer had any pain when he ran or even did combat maneuvers. Tails had patched Cody up in no time, the robian feeling as physically good as the day he was roboticized. Sonic had also made numerous attempts to get Angel to tell him why she had mistaken him for someone else. But the pink furred echidna did nothing more than brush him off, which was causing him to become somewhat bitter towards her. And her attitude towards other people wasn't much better. Slasher and Lily, in the meantime, had been hard at work getting into contact with the other Freedom Fighter outposts as well as tracking down the other Timestones. Now that they knew where they were, all that was left was to make a plan.

"Are you sure the other six are up there?" asked Sonic, looking at the map Nicole was displaying in Lily's hut. The mini computer was displaying a sphere hologram of Mobius, but the six red dots indicating the remaining six Timestones were grouped close together above the area where Never Lake was located.

"No doubt about it. The rest of the Timestones are on Little Planet," said Lily as she closed the small computer, placing it back in her vest pocket.

"I wonder why they'd keep them up there," said Drake as he sat on top of a fully repaired Cody's shoulder.

"Probably to better safeguard them. A person has to get to Little Planet by air, thus making it impossible to not be noticed by radar," said Tails.

"Not a bad strategy at all," said Cody. "It gives the intruding force no element of surprise whatsoever."

"Which means they'll know we are coming," said Sonic in disgust. While he never was one for playing it safe, he knew taking risks in this version of Mobius like he normally would could spell disaster with a capital "D". He looked over at the two raptors standing at the window, both staring up at the night sky. He could only imagine what was going through their minds after the news that they had heard.

Then there was Angel, who was seated on the window opposite the one the two raptors were at. She was looking down at the ground outside with her eyes half closed as Comet sat in her lap, eyes closed as Angel petted her head softly. Sonic smiled to himself inwardly. He knew Angel cared for the small purple chao like a child, even if she was somewhat mean spirited towards her most of the time.

But Comet never once complained about Angel's attitude. She took it without a single comment, though her facial expression was a little harder to hide. Often it would hint towards disappointment or worry, but never anger. Sonic thought highly of Comet because of this and wished he could control his anger with the pink echidna better. Getting up from the table he was seated at, Sonic slowly walked over to Angel, trying not to make her feel uncomfortable.

"Hey Angel," said Sonic in a soft voice. Angel looked up from her thoughts with a glare.

"I was busy thinking about something," she growled softly before looking back out the window again. She then said in her normal tone, "What do you want?"

"I was wondering if I could borrow Comet for a second," he said. She looked up again with a look of suspicion on her face.

"What for?" she asked.

"I want to talk to her in private, if that's okay?" answered Sonic.

"About what?" she asked, still eyeing him.

"I just want to ask her a few questions. I don't think that can harm anything," said Sonic. He then caught the anger in his voice, and shrank away slightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get mad." Angel glared at him a few more seconds, Comet still sitting with her eyes closed in the echidna's lap. She then felt Angel's elbow nudge her in the side. She opened her eyes and flew up next to Sonic. Comet bowed her head to Angel. She then turned to Sonic.

"Shall we?" she asked. Sonic nodded and the two of them walked out of the hut. Lily watched the two of them walk out of the hut, then returned her attention to the discussion at the table. Outside, Sonic began to walk along the trail leading from Lily's hut to the main section of Knothole's residential housing. Almost everyone was asleep by now, the hour closing to midnight as the two ventured into Knothole's square.

"What questions do you wish to ask me?" asked Comet as she flew alongside Sonic. Sonic started to say something, but stopped short, trying to word it without offending Comet's friend. They started walking down the path that lead to the ring pool and it was several more steps before Sonic finally answered Comet's question.

"I want to know why Angel seems to have a problem with everyone here. She is bitter to most people, and those that she isn't bitter towards don't get any kind of response from her at all," said Sonic as he kept walking down the path, never taking his eyes from the path ahead. At this question, Comet breathed a small sigh.

"She is confused. She doesn't know how to coop with so many people around her, so she lashes out with anger," she said.

"She's used to living on Floating Island all alone, right?" asked Sonic. Comet merely nodded to this question. "So how is it that you don't seem to have any problem with her attitude? I've seen you take her temper without anger or complaint when she directs it at you."

"I know that she doesn't mean to be, even if she does come across that way," she said softly.

"I see…" he said, not sure if Comet really believed that or if she was just saying it out of loyalty to Angel. "I have another one that's been bugging me somewhat. Angel's ignored me about it, but maybe you can tell me. Who was it that she mistook me for when we first met?" he asked. Here Comet trailed off as she realized she was stepping into unstable territory, coming to a full stop in midair. Sonic stopped walking and looked over at Comet.

"What?" he asked. Comet shook her head slowly, her eyes trailing off to some other time and place as she stared out ahead of herself, tears starting to form in her black eyes.

"I can't answer that question," she whispered. Sonic was about to ask why when Comet flew ahead of him, crying softly to herself as she flew out over the ring pool at the end of the path. There she hovered a foot above the water, her face buried in her paws as she cried. Sonic walked slowly down the path and sat on the log facing the pool.

"Comet," said Sonic softly. When she didn't respond, Sonic called out her name again a little louder than before. This time, she looked over at him, tears still fresh in her eyes. "It's okay. I won't make you answer that question." Comet nodded slowly, sniffing as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Sonic patted the log he was sitting on. Comet cracked a slight smile and flew over next to him and sat down. They sat like this for a few minutes, neither of them saying a word.

"It's so beautiful," said Comet. Sonic looked down to find her looking up at the twin moons that had appeared through the clearing in the trees. He cracked a smile of his own as he looked up at the two moons above.

"That it is," he said in agreement. After a few minutes of looking at the moons, Sonic turned his attention to the ground. Finding a stone half the size of his fist, he picked it up and tossed it into the pool, watching the rings ripple from the point of the stone's impact. "So tell me," said Sonic as he turned to Comet, who was still looking at the moons with a smile. "Do you think Angel will lose the attitude and not be so agitated with everyone?" he asked. Comet's smile vanished instantly at the question and she looked down at the ground.

"I can not say. She's very on edge right now, but I can not tell you why," she said.

"It has something to do with that other thing, right?" asked Sonic. Comet nodded before she stood up and flew up into the air.

"I should head back. My mistress will be wondering what is taking me so long to return," she said as she turned towards the village. She started to take off when she felt Sonic's hand on her head.

"One more question," said Sonic. Comet turned towards him.

"Yes?" she asked. Sonic smiled as he shook his head, a slight hint of amusement in his voice.

"Why do you call Angel 'mistress'?" he asked. Comet smiled herself.

"It is a show of respect, nothing more," she said.

"Ah," said Sonic as he started walking back towards the village, Comet following behind him. "Just been wondering about that for a while now."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"So tell me again. Why we are going in alone and in this hunk of junk?" asked Sonic as he leaned against the metal hull of a hover-unit, swinging his foot back into its armor with a clang. The ship looked like it was over a decade old, with the paint chipping and peeling in several places. Rust was also starting to cover parts of the ship, evidence from the years of wear and tear. Sonic reached up and fiddled with the straps of the backpack on his back, still trying to get used to the feel of it again after more than six months of not wearing one. Inside the pack were two Power Rings that Tails had kept stashed away for emergency power purposes. Even though the true power of the rings were only accessible to Sonic in that they increased his speed as well as the power of his spindashes for a short time, they still gave off an amount of energy that could keep Knothole's small community powered for several weeks. Luckily, the rings hadn't been used for that purpose yet, so they were still fresh.

"One ship isn't going to raise a red flag with the security systems. Leviathan and the others made it all the way to the main base itself in only two hover-units without raising the alarm," said Lily as she walked up the ramp and into the ship. Sonic rolled his eyes before following after her.

"Oh yeah, they did a great job of not causing a panic with Little Planet's security. Let's ask the charred collar that is what is left of Levi if it thinks the same thing," he said sarcastically as he took his seat. Cody smiled as he sat down next to him, Drake sitting down on his lap.

"Ease up Sonic. You know as well as I do that if we go in with everything we have, we'd be picked off before we would even make planet fall," he said. Sonic sighed before putting his head into his hands and rubbing his eyes.

"I know. I just feel a little on edge is all," replied Sonic as he wiped the last bit of sleep from his eyes. "We're getting down to the tough part of this little adventure, and I just feel like we're going to get hit broadside with something we can't handle by ourselves." A chuckle followed Sonic's comment as Angel ascended the ramp with Comet on her shoulder.

"A weak attitude suggests a weak person, hedgehog. I suggest you get stronger fast," she said as she sat down across from him. Sonic gave her a glare from his seat across from her.

"Don't give me any attitude today Angel," he said, pointing his left index finger at her. "You are not exactly the picture of perfection yourself." A frown etched its way on her face. She was about to say something when Slasher's glare caught her gaze as the winged raptor walked into the cargo bay with the others, Saber following behind her. Angel only shrugged, then leaned back against the seat.

"Everyone strapped in back there?" called Tails' voice from up in the pilot's seat.

"As well as can be expected when you have to stand up," answered Saber.

"Sorry, Saber. We didn't plan on raptors taking a trip in these things," said Tails, looking back at the two raptors.

"Not a problem, just don't pull any maneuvers without letting us know, okay?" asked Saber. Tails gave him a thumbs up.

"No problem," he said before turning back to the windshield. "And off we go!" he cried as he fired the thrusters on the hover-unit, the transport ship leaping into the air, nearly throwing the raptors into the ceiling as it stopped rising in mid air all at once. Tails turned around, rubbing the back of his head with a look of embarrassment. "Sorry about that. It's been a few years since I've driven one of these things." A chorus of groans sounded from the other passengers.

********************************************

"They are ahead of schedule," hissed a metallic voice, the figure the voice belonged to turning away from the view screen feeding the video from the lone surveillance orb that watched the hover-unit leave Knothole and focusing its glowing red eyes on the other figure in the room. The other figure nodded slowly, drumming its fingers on the table it stood next to.

"It would seem so. Even I didn't expect them to get the first Timestones without Sonic's help. Quite skillful indeed, I must say," said the figure. The robot narrowed its left eyebrow slightly.

"'Skillful', you say?" it asked before turning back to the monitor. "If I may say so sir, it seems that their success was more dependant on luck than anything else." The other figure chuckled slightly.

"Perhaps you are right. Lucky them," said the figure before stepping up next to the robot, towering over it in size. "Still, mecha bot one was not a pushover. Does that make you wonder if you might join him?" it asked, looking down at the robot.

"Silver Sonic was an outdated model, nothing more. I, however, am far more advanced than he could have ever been," said the robot, looking up at its master. The other figure gave a grin before turning and walking back to the table.

"True, you are superior in design to mecha bot one. Most of them will not pose any threat to you, but I can not say the same thing for Sonic," said the robot's master.

"I will _not_ lose to him," said the robot, slamming its metallic fist on the control console, punching straight through it. Ignoring the pain from the electrical surge from the control panel as it began to spark and smoke, it then said in a much lower voice, "I will defeat him." The other figure just gave a huff, causing the robot to turn back towards its master. "You do not believe I can?"

"I believe you are not superior to him, mecha bot two. You are unable to break the sound barrier on your own like he can and you are very prone to acting through emotion rather than logic. That fact was proven long ago, if you'll recall. A fatal mistake if he takes advantage of that," said the robot's master. "Besides, you have no real reason to get worked up over something as pointless as this, Metal Sonic. They should make planet fall on the far side of Little Planet, which means they'll be going to Rexxon's area first more than likely. He should have no problem dealing with them."

"If you say so," said Metal Sonic, turning back to the monitor for one last glimpse at the hover-unit before it vanished from the surveillance orb's range.

*****************************************

"How much longer?" asked Sonic from the back of the hover-unit. They had been in the air now for over three hours, having to pass through a security checkpoint about every fifty miles, and he was starting to get cabin fever. He wasn't used to sitting still for this long except when he was asleep.

"We only have one more checkpoint till we can go planet side," said Tails from the pilot's chair. Lily was beside him, monitoring the communication traffic for any signs that they had been discovered. But so far, the only traffic that had been heard in the area was some awfully slow games of computer chess between the hover-unit Swatbot crews as they patrolled the area.

"You'd think they'd be a little more alert than this," said Lily as she took a break from monitoring to lean back in her seat.

"I know. Makes you wonder if they're always this calm or if it's all just a ploy to lure people like us onto the planet," said Tails, looking over at Lily, who in turn just shrugged.

"Well, whatever the case, we should be ready for the worst," said Slasher from behind them. Everyone voiced an agreement as the hover-unit came to a stop at the last checkpoint, the captured codes they had been using at the other checkpoints being transferred from their unit's computer to the other unit's for verification. Several extra seconds ticked by than that had at all the other checkpoints and Tails was sure that their cover was blown when a Swatbot's voice came over the intercom.

"Security codes accepted. You are clear to land in area RX-1. Please acknowledge location," said the voice. Cody, thinking quickly, climbed up next to the pilot's chair and was ready to give the response.

"Acknowledged. Hover-unit R-66Y inbound for landing site RX-1," came the voice of a Swatbot over the other unit's intercom. The hover-unit then shot towards the planet, leaving the security checkpoint behind them in a flash. Once they were out of sensor range, Tails looked back at Cody.

"Nice job. When they wanted confirmation, I was sure they'd figure out who we were," said Tails.

"Give me any completely generic mechanical voice and I can copy it easily. One of the perks of having this body," said Cody as he leaned back in his seat.

"So which Timestone will be the closest to where we set down?" asked Drake as he landed on Cody's shoulder, watching Little Planet's outline get bigger in the viewing window as they approached. Lily leaned forward and typed a few commands into the hover-unit's computer.

"We were instructed to land in area RX-1, which according to the map system in the computer files…is a small island about ten miles off shore of the northwestern continent," she answered. She then looked over at Tails. "A little convenient that a Timestone is located on the same island that we're landing on."

"I know. Which means we'll have to be ready for anything," said Tails.

The flight to area RX-1 was uneventful, save for narrowly missing a life form sensor array about thirty miles from the island that was situated near an odd looking highway that twisted all around a fifteen square mile area with a forest about five miles to the north of that. As the hover-unit passed over the last part of the mainland, the island came into view off in the horizon. A thick jungle surrounded a single mountain set in the middle of the ten mile long island with a small landing area situated on the west end of the island.

"Now why would they leave the landing area so under guarded like that?" asked Tails to himself. Lily leaned forward and looked out the window, also noting the lack of security around the area they were supposed to land in. The only thing that was present as a security measure was three mounted laser cannons.

"I'm not sure," said Lily as the hover-unit came to a hover above the landing area. Tails carefully maneuvered the aging ship into a landing position, then started the descent.

"Still no communications from any local hover-units or Swatbots," said Lily as she double checked the comm frequencies.

"I don't like this," said Tails as he continued the craft's descent. "There should be at least some kind of security around, even for a single ship like this." Suddenly, the craft lurched hard to the left as one of the mounted laser cannons opened fire on the ship, blasting a chunk of armor off the ship. "Hang on!" he cried as he tried to steady the jerking hover-unit, the other two cannon barrels rising to track the ship.

"Open the cargo hatch and I'll take care of the cannons!" hollered Cody from the back of the ship. Lily quickly typed the command into the ship's computer, hearing the hiss of the doors opening behind her. She looked back as the wind from outside howled through the interior of the craft to see Cody leap from the back end of the cargo bay. As soon as he cleared the ship, he fired his thrusters, narrowly avoiding a laser bolt from one of the cannons that had tracked him leaving the ship's aft end.

Diving towards the ground, he fired four of his own laser blasts at the cannon that had fired upon him, two of them hitting home as they penetrated the dome covering the top of the cannon. The cannon sparked for a fraction of a second before exploding in a shower of flaming shrapnel. One of the remaining cannons turned and opened fire on Cody, the robotic hedgehog having to make a quick ascension to avoid the oncoming enemy fire. The other cannon fired another two bolts at the hover-unit, both shots hitting home as they punctured the armor plating of the ship. A small explosion rocked the ship as smoke started pouring from the two holes in the plating as the ship started to falter in the air.

"The engines are hit! I can't keep it airborne!" shouted Tails. As the ship started a nosedive towards the forest below, Slasher emerged from the cargo bay with Sonic, Angel, and Lily on her back. Tails and Drake in his large form followed carrying Saber as Comet flew alongside them. Seconds later the hover-unit slammed into the ground, exploding on impact.

"My turn!" cried Sonic as he dropped off Slasher's back right at the cannon that had shot down the hover-unit, curling into a spindash when he had cleared Slasher's body. The cannon opened fire on him, trying to shoot the freefalling ball of spines, but Sonic was falling too fast for the cannon to track him accurately, and the shots went wide. Sonic smashed into the barrel of the cannon from above, crumpling the middle of the barrel inward as he landed off to the side of it as it tried to track him. The cannon tried to fire another shot, but the clog in the middle of the cannon had almost completely covered the exit of the barrel, and the laser bolt instead collided with the metal clogging it, causing a back flash that blew the cannon apart from the inside out. Sonic stood up and looked over at the last cannon still firing on Cody.

The cannon fired another blast at Cody, the robotic hedgehog diving towards the ground to avoid it, leveling out only a few feet off the ground as he shot towards the cannon at almost two hundred miles per hour. The cannon tried to lower its sights to track him, but before it was even halfway towards the ground Cody flashed by, swiping his metal claws with ease deep into the cannon's lower section, shredding a gash in the cannon's side as he flew by. The cannon whined, then toppled to the ground, smoke spewing forth from the gaping hole in its side.

"Nice welcoming committee," said Cody as he landed next to Sonic. Sonic only nodded as Slasher landed next to the two hedgehogs, Tails and Drake dropping Saber to the ground as they landed.

"My question is why they didn't attack us before we got to this place," said Sonic. "I mean, they had several different times when they could've shot us out of the sky without much trouble." Cody narrowed his eyes for a second, then looked off to the right of the group at a part of the jungle thick with shrubs.

"I think I might know why," said Cody before firing a laser blast into the shrubbery, a small explosion emitting from inside the mess of plants, catching them on fire. As the leaves on the shrubs were burned away, the remains of a miniature sensor dish laid within, still smoking from the laser shot it had just taken. "Life form scanner. A very small one, but still powerful enough to read us through the ship's hull. It must have been linked with the laser cannons around the platform."

"So, in other words, they know we're here, right?" asked Angel.

"I doubt the scanner was set up for long range communications with whatever suffices as a base of operations out here. I barely picked up the signal myself. More than likely it was used to alert the cannons to intruders and have them attack the life forms it detected," said Cody as he walked over to the still smoking machine. He bent down next to it to, picking it up in his hands as he turned it over on its back, then right side up again. "Still, I wouldn't bet against it actually having that kind of range, so it'd be best to assume they know we're here," he said, dropping the charred piece of machinery.

"Either way, we should get away from this area of the island as soon as possible," said Slasher. "Even if the dish didn't send a signal to the base telling them that life forms were on the island, I'm sure someone or something has probably noticed that three laser emplacements have gone off-line by now."

"Good idea," said Tails as he mounted Saber, who looked a little annoyed at first at not having a warning that the fox was gonna do that, but shrugged off the uncomfortable feeling as he walked up next to Slasher. "Let's just hope that we caught them off-guard as far as us being here. It might give us a slight edge if we did."

"Then let's hurry," said Cody as he took to the air, hovering only a few feet off the ground before taking off into the jungle at speeds close to seventy miles per hour, Sonic and the two raptors keeping pace with him. Sonic then looked over at Lily seated on Slasher's back. He almost laughed as he saw the two chao clinging for dear life to Angel's back.

"Which way to the Timestone?" asked Sonic. Lily dug Nicole out of her vest pocket, opening the tiny computer with a click. Pressing a few buttons, she brought up an overview map of the island. In the center of the mountain portion of the map blinked a red light.

"It's inside the mountain. Probably powering the base, if I had to guess," she said, closing Nicole and putting her back into her pocket.

"That's not good," said Sonic as he looked forward again. "No way we'll make it inside without them seeing us. Heck, the tunnels alone have to be laced with security cameras."

"Perhaps to someone who isn't used to using stealth, that might represent a problem," said Angel as the wind whipped her dreadlocks behind her. Sonic glared at the echidna as she brushed a lock of the downy white hair that stripped the front of her pink hair out of her eyes.

"So you're saying you could get in and out without a problem?" asked Sonic, a hint of sarcasm mixed in with the remark. Angel merely shook her head.

"No. I'm not implying that I could do such a thing without running into a problem, but I do see it as unlikely," she answered. "Stealth might not be one of my stronger points, but I'm sure I have more experience with it than you do what with your explosive sounding bursts of speed."

"She does have a point," said Slasher, looking over at Sonic. "Besides, both Saber and I are well trained in stealth. It's one of our natural skills. We should be okay so long as everyone does what we say to do." Sonic sighed, a sign of resignation to the argument. He never seemed to win, so why continue with it.

************************************

"That looks like as good a place as any to try and sneak in," said Saber as Tails dismounted from his back, taking his crossbow off his back and loading it. They had gone around the edge of the jungle to the other side of the island to avoid the patrols that would be looking for them, and so far they had managed to avoid any kind of pursuit or search parties sent to find them. Now they were looking at what appeared to be an older cave that had once been used by the operators of the site, but the machinery outside it was in shambles, worn down for excessive use and rusting from the amount of rain they had endured over the years gone by.

"I don't know. Looks too easy to me," said Sonic as he checked out the surroundings. He then looked back at Cody. "How about it? Any sign of Swatbots or velocibots?" Sonic moved out of the way as Cody stuck his head out of the bush the two of them were behind. He switched on his infrared sensors, trying to detect any signs of electrical heat signatures that machines gave off. After a thorough once over, he shook his head.

"No heat signatures at all. Not even from inside the cave," he said as he stood up. "Saber hit it on the nose. This is probably our best entry point."

"Are you sure no one's in the immediate area?" asked Sonic, still not convinced. Cody searched with his sensors two times in a 360 degrees arc, but still had nothing on his infrared. _Something's not right here_, thought Sonic. _We've been out here for over an hour, yet we haven't even been within range of any possible patrols. No way this place has nothing watching over it._ "I still don't like it."

"I say if there's nothing around, then we're safe. Stop being so paranoid Sonic," said Drake from his spot in Lily's arms.

"I'm not being paranoid," snapped Sonic, turning back to the small chao resting in the female hedgehog's arms. "I'm just being really cautious. It's not like Robotnik to leave something as valuable as a Timestone unguarded like this."

"I agree with the chao," said Angel as she stepped out into the small clearing just outside of the cave, causing everyone to tense, waiting for some kind of trap to spring. But nothing came, and after several seconds, everyone let out a sigh of relieve. Sonic sprang from his spot right up to Angel.

"Don't do something so reckless again!" he cried. "Who knows what would have happened to you if this cave was booby trapped!?" Angel merely gave him a smug grin before turning and walking into the cave. Sonic's hands curled into fists, his teeth clenching together. He was about ready to zip up to her and tell her off when Slasher's clawed hand placed itself on his shoulder. He tensed up slightly, then relaxed, knowing full well what the raptor's unspoken gesture meant. He finally sighed before running into the cave and up next to Angel, pulling a Power Ring from his pack to light the way as he walked along side her.

"Huh. Not much in here," said Cody as he scanned further down the tunnel. The tunnel was big enough to accommodate both of the raptors walking side by side and still leave about ten feet on either side of them. A few large coal carts on a track were the only thing metal showing up on his scanners. He couldn't scan too far, though, as the rock blocked his scanners when it became more than a few inches thick.

"I wonder where these go," said Tails as they came to the coal carts.

"Further into the cave, I'd guess," said Drake. Everyone looked over at him with a look of 'duh' written on their faces.

"May I make a suggestion?" asked Comet.

"Sure," answered Sonic. It was then Sonic realized that the little chao had been completely silent up till now, but as for why he wasn't sure. Comet never really seemed to talk all that much when she was around Angel, as if she was afraid to. Sonic glanced over at the echidna to see her glaring at her chao, able to see the sneer on her face even with the very dim light that was being provided from the Power Ring and the blue glow from Drake's emerald.

"I would follow the tracks that these carts are on. More than likely they will lead into one of the main areas of the base inside the mountain, as we know that the base isn't outside," she said before quickly flying back over to Angel, coming to a float next to her mistress' side.

"Not a bad idea at all. What do you think Sonic?" asked Tails, looking over at the blue hedgehog. Before Sonic could answer, though, Cody shot a hand over his mouth, holding a claw up to his mouth in a hushing gesture. Everyone grew silent as the robotic hedgehog slowly moved up against the stone wall, placing an ear on the rock.

"Something's burrowing through the rock just a few inches on the other side," he whispered.

"What is it?" asked Lily as softly as she could. Cody shook his head slightly, not taking his ear off the rock.

"I'm not sure. Sounds like metal crushing rock, but I don't know what kind of machine would be doing that to burrow through solid rock," he answered. Suddenly, the entire area of the wall Cody was leaning against exploded outward, showering the tunnel in a spray of rocks as he was thrown into Saber, knocking them both to the floor. A loud, high pitched screech emitted from the cave wall as what appeared to be the head end of a massive metal snake or worm slithered out of the hole in the wall. It was at least five feet thick and several times that in length, its glowing red eyes scanning back and forth as it took in the tunnel, noting the intruders as it looked around.

"By the heavens of Mobius, what is that thing!?" cried Lily as she backed away from the creature, drawing the blaster from her vest pocket as Slasher positioned herself between the two of them.

"I have no clue!" answered Cody as he got back to his feet, folding his arms over his chest, then flinging them out as he extended his claws. "But whatever it is, it's mechanical, that's for sure!"

"A Magma Worm," whispered Sonic. He remembered seeing several of them inside of a volcano Robotnik had been using as a steel mill several years ago. He also remembered how tough they were to take down. In the end, he had only managed to take out one of the five he had ran into after nearly six spindashes to the head in the exact same spot, having to outrun the others as they chased him through the underground caves.

"What did you say it is?" hollered Angel as she drew her sword.

"It's a Magma Worm! Watch out for its teeth! They can shred solid rock in half!" cried Sonic. The Magma Worm turned its head towards the retreating Lily as she fired blast after blast into the metal creature's body, but only succeeding in making several small scorch marks along the underside of its body. The worm slithered towards her, the rest of its thirty foot long body clearing the hole it had made in the wall. Suddenly, half the light in the tunnel died as Drake bit into his emerald, running over to get between the worm and Lily.

With the light cut in half, Sonic lost sight of Lily, Drake, and Slasher who were in front of the worm. But he saw Cody dive for the worm's tail area, piercing his metallic claws deep into the hide of the mechanical worm's tail section as he gripped it hard. The thing gave no indication it had felt the hedgehog grasp its tail and instead kept its slow but steady pace towards the three people in front of it. Flames suddenly lit the cave as Drake blew a breath of fire at the worm's underside. The metal creature shrank back for an instant, then raised its head and let out another high pitched screech before lunging at the trio in front of it. But as it came within a foot of sinking its teeth into Drake, it was suddenly pulled back hard by Cody, causing it to instead fall face first into the rock floor of the tunnel.

"Didn't anyone tell you it's not nice to bite people?" asked Cody as he fired his thrusters, yanking the Magma Worm away from the three people in front of it. He then dropped its tail and flew back to a safe distance. It turned its head section back towards the metal hedgehog, hissing as it curled its body around to face him. Its head suddenly lurched to the side as Sonic spindashed off the side of its head, tearing several small gashes in the skin. The worm looked over at Sonic as he landed next to a snarling Saber.

The male raptor let out a shrill cry before leaping onto the backside of the Magma Worm's head, sinking his six inch long toe claws into the thing's metallic hide. He began shredding gapping holes in its skin as he clawed ferociously at it, holding onto it with his fore claws. The metal worm tried to bring its head back to snap at the young raptor, but it couldn't get the angle it needed to bring its teeth to bare. Slasher then leapt from her spot onto the thing's tail, sinking her own claws into its hide. The creature let out several loud screeches as it tried to fling the two dinosaurs from its body.

"Hope you like electrical surges," said Tails under his breath as he fired an arrow from his crossbow, hitting it squarely between its red eyes. The worm cried out in agony as several thousand volts of electricity burst forth from the arrow, frying a great deal of its internal circuitry.

"Lights out!" cried Angel as she jumped six feet into the air, sword held back behind her head to deliver a killing blow. The Magma Worm was so busy with the two raptors ripping its back to shreds that it didn't even see the female echidna's attack. Angel brought her sword crashing down hard on the worm's midsection, the sharp blade cutting deep into the mechanical creature. The Magma Worm let out its loudest screech yet, then collapsed in a heap in the middle of the tunnel, oil seeping from the wound caused by the sword.

"Huh. Well, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" said Sonic sarcastically, shying away from the numerous glares from the others he received for the comment.

"Let's just get going before they send for reinforcements. I have a feeling that wasn't the last-" said Tails before he was cut off by another Magma Worm smashing its way into the cave back towards the entrance. A second and third crash could be heard as two more joined it.

"Never mind what I said about it not being so bad!" cried Sonic as the three worms turned towards the group, their teeth bared and high pitched cries echoing down the cave from their screaming. Cody and Lily began firing laser shots like mad down the cave at the worms as they began to slither towards them.

"Climb on!" cried Slasher as she knelt down, letting Angel and Tails climb on her back. Comet quickly flew up into Slasher's arms before she took off further into the cave. Lily turned and ran over to Saber, the young raptor kneeling to allow her to mount him. Cody fired off four more shots, each one bouncing off the thick armor of the worms as they came within striking range. Cody then had to leap back ten feet to avoid getting his head bitten off as the lead worm brought its open jaws crashing down on the spot the robotic hedgehog had been just a split second ago. Cody turned back towards Sonic as Saber took off after Slasher, Drake flying after him.

"You seem to know more about these things than anyone. Can they catch us if we just outrun them?" asked Cody.

"Not a chance. They're strong and quick strikers in close quarters, but that thick armor slows them down when they have to slither on the ground," answered Sonic. Cody nodded, both of them leaping back to avoid another strike by the lead worm as it came into range again. As soon as they landed, they both jumped forward. Sonic curled into a spindash, striking the worm dead on in the lower jaw knocking the massive robot into the cave ceiling, momentarily stunning it. Cody then delivered a swift kick to the side of its head, knocking the worm into the cave wall, the giant robot crashing to the ground, its systems trying to reset themselves so it could retaliate. "Let's go!" cried Sonic as he and Cody took off after the others, leaving the worms to regroup.

Slasher and Saber both came to a stop and turned around at the sound of Sonic running up to them, Cody landing next to him.

"Are we a safe distance from them?" asked Slasher. Sonic gave a nod.

"As long as there aren't any others beside them, then yeah, we're safe," he said.

"Good. We don't need to be wasting our time with them if we don't have to," she said before she resumed walking down the railway path. A couple of minutes later, both the raptors stopped, cringing and shaking their heads.

"What is it?" asked Tails from Slasher's back. It took a few more seconds for Slasher to regain her composure, her eyes watering slightly.

"There is something that really reeks further down the cave," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Oh man…" said Tails as his sensitive nose picked up the scent next, waving his hand back and forth, trying to waft the smell away from him. "That stinks! What is that!?"

"I have no clue," said Saber, also trying to block out the smell by placing a clawed hand over his nose. "But whatever it is, I doubt even a month old rotting carcass could smell this bad."

"Ugh…Thanks for the mental picture Saber," said Lily from her riding spot on the male raptor's back. As the group walked deeper into the cave, a greenish light began to slowly drive away the near complete darkness that had surrounded them from an exit to the tunnel. But as the light chased away the shadows, the smell that the two raptors and teenage fox had gotten a whiff of found its way to the others in the group. It took nearly a full minute for everyone to be able to tolerate the horrific smell enough to move on, but as they came to the exit, the smell became of almost no concern as the sight that greeted them awestruck them.

The entire center of the mountain was hollowed out, with a smooth metal dome completely covering the cavern walls and ceiling. In the middle was a bubbling lake of green liquid with four walkways leading from the compass points of the room to a central platform set in the middle of the giant lake. Sitting on the platform was another smaller platform, on which was resting a holding case that contained the white Timestone.

"Well, at least now we know where that smell's been coming from," said Drake as he landed on the stone floor of the tunnel. Both the raptors surveyed the room, trying to weed out any other scent beside the overly rancid smell of the lake, but not making any headway.

"Is there anything in there Cody?" asked Slasher, her eyes watering even more now that they were close to the source of the odor. Cody took the lead, his scanners searching the entire cavern. But as his scopes came up negative, the thought that something was seriously wrong with this picture crept into his mind.

"Nothing on my sensors, but I can't shake the feeling that there's something in there even I'm not seeing," he said, shaking his head.

"I agree," said Sonic, his eyes narrowing as he stepped out into the cavern, his eyes scanning the hollowed out section of the mountain. "Robotnik's not one to leave something as valuable as a Timestone just sitting in the middle of a nasty smelling lake."

"Step aside fraidy hog," said Angel as she dismounted Slasher. She then walked right past Sonic and up and onto the bridge.

"What are you doing!? For all you know those bridges are booby trapped!" hollered Sonic. Angel ignored the blue hedgehog, continuing down the bridge without as much as a glance back.

"That attitude of hers is going to get her into trouble one of these days," said Cody as he walked up next to Sonic, who whipped around so fast it almost scared the robot hedgehog.

"One of these days!? I'd say she's in trouble now! I've had it with her attitude!" he yelled before turning and heading down the bridge after the echidna, who had reached the middle platform and was looking over the holding case for security measures. "Hey!" he hollered as he stomped up next to Angel, who finally took notice of Sonic's presence and turned towards him.

"What does the 'fraidy hog' want?" she asked.

"What do I want!? I want you to cut the attitude, for one! I have just enough mind to kick your high and mighty self right into that lake!" he yelled. Angel half closed her eyes and gave him a smirk.

"I'd like to see you try that," she calmly said before returning her attention back to the Timestone. This only served to aggravate Sonic even more, who started shouting random threats at Angel, only to have them fall on deaf ears. Back at the main group, Cody just placed a hand over his eyes and shook his head.

"Why does Sonic always have to pick a fight with someone," he sighed.

Slasher looked over at him.

"What do you mean? Does he always act like this?" she asked.

"When he's stressed out or really on guard, then yeah," he answered as he stepped out of the tunnel and into the cavern.

"He needs to learn some self control," said Lily from Saber's back. Tails smiled from his mount on Slasher's back.

"If he's anything like the Sonic I knew, then good luck teaching it to him," he said. Back at the platform, Sonic had finally accepted defeat, having made no progress getting Angel's attention. He was now just standing with his eyes closed and his arms crossed, tapping his feet as a calming effect. Angel, on the other hand, finally looked up from her inspection of the case. Satisfied that the thing wasn't rigged to explode or anything, she removed the glass case covering the Timestone.

"I told you, nothing to worry about, fraidy hog," she said as she reached out and grasped at the gemstone, only to meet nothing but air as he hand passed right through the Timestone. "What the heck!?" she said under her breath. The realization that the Timestone was no more than a hologram hit her a split second before the sound of metal slamming into rock echoed throughout the cavern. She looked back at the tunnel only to see a metal door six inches thick now blocking the only entrance and exit to the cavern, keeping Sonic and herself trapped in the room and keeping the others locked out.

"My my. How nice it is to have company after all this time," bellowed a voice all to familiar to Sonic as a video screen lit up on the far side of the cavern, revealing a face that was all to familiar as well.

"Robotnik!" cried Sonic as the evil doctor's face grinned down at him.

"Ah Sonic, my old nemesis. It's been so many years since I've seen your face?" chuckled Robotnik before he took a few steps back from the camera. "You don't know how surprised I am to see you alive Sonic."

"That makes two of us," said Sonic as he walked across the bridge to the video screen. "I'd have thought you would've been out of the picture after Leviathan went back in time." Robotnik gave Sonic a renewed grin.

"Ah yes, the infamous mecha bot five. You don't know how much I hated him when he first set foot in my affairs, but then again, if not for him, I wouldn't be where I am today," said Robotnik as he turned back towards the camera. "However, I don't think I am really what you should be worrying about right now. Rexxon is hungry and if I'm not mistaken, I believe it's his feeding time. But fret not. If by some chance you should best my little pet, then the Timestone you came here for will be yours. That very stone will also open the door blocking the exit once placed in the proper spot."

"Nice of you give us a little hope. Usually you just spout off a bunch of bluster towards me," said Sonic. Robotnik laughed lightly at Sonic's comment.

"I figure giving you hope is better than leaving you with the feeling of none just so I can see that very same hope get crushed into dust and thrown to the wind. Oh, and one more thing. If you don't like the idea of acid eating away at your body till it literally melts you into a puddle of waste, I'd avoid the substance in the lake. Have fun." With that remark, the video screen shut off. A sudden tremor turned Sonic's attention back towards Angel as the platform began to give underneath her feet, the four bridges following suit. Sonic quickly dashed out onto the bridge, accelerating to over three hundred miles per hour in under a second, hoping that he didn't trip over any of the crumbling bridge's pieces.

Not even waiting to hear Angel's protest, he jumped onto the platform, snatched her up in his arms, and jumped onto the opposite bridge. But as the far end of the bridge collapsed and fell into the pool of green liquid below, he knew that the bridge wouldn't hold the two of them for more than a second or two longer. Taking a deep breath and holding Angel closer to himself, he jumped into the air as hard as he could, the bridge giving out from underneath him.

"Hang on tight!" cried Sonic as he curled himself around Angel as best he could, the two of them slamming hard onto the rock floor, rolling to a stop with Angel on top of Sonic. The female echidna quickly sprang to her feet, unsheathing her sword and pointing it right between Sonic's eyes before he even had a chance to attempt to get to his feet.

"Don't you ever…_ever_…do something like that again or you'll feel what it's like to have this sword go through your forehead!" she yelled at Sonic. Sonic's only response was a mock of the same smirk she had given him earlier. He knew he had finally gotten under the stubborn echidna's skin, her face flushed a slightly darker shade of pink than normal as a white stripe of hair flowed in a mess down in front of her eyes as she glared at him. But the smirk was the last thing Sonic should've done. Angel gritted her teeth and brought her sword back in preparation to stab him as the last of her own patience became lost to the wind.

But before she could bring the blade forward, the entire argument was forgotten as the head of a mammoth, serpent-like creature exploded forth from the middle of the bubbling green lake, tossing the green substance everywhere as it rose from the liquid depths of the pond. The creature let out a deafening roar that echoed throughout the cavern as it lowered its head to look down at what it only knew was prey. The head of the creature was glistening silver metal, with several reptilian features molded into its design as well as the long metallic neck sticking out of the lake that supported the head. Set in the creature's forehead was the white Timestone. It opened its mouth, letting out a hiss as it bared its razor sharp metal teeth, its glowing red eyes squinting as it inspected its next meal.

"I'm guessing that's Rexxon," said Sonic as he looked up at the massive metal serpent as Angel gripped her sword tighter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"What the heck is going on in there?" asked Tails as he examined the door for some way to open it.

"Something bad, I'm sure," said Lily as she dismounted Saber. She pulled Nicole out and opened the palm computer, placing it against the door. "Nicole, conduct a thermal scan of the cavern interior." The small computer beeped several times, then displayed a holographic thermal image of the interior of the cavern.

"What in the world is that?" asked Slasher as the thermal image of Rexxon towered over the two thermal images of their friends.

"I have no clue, but whatever it is, there's more of it under that lake," said Tails, indicating the long thermal trail that went under the acid lake and snaked across the floor of the lake.

"I know what that thing is," said Lily, everyone turning to look at her. "A couple of years ago, a mission to destroy one of Robotnik's remote bases was conducted. But the mission was a complete failure. The only survivor barely made it back to us, too far gone to save. Before he passed on, he told us of a giant metal serpent that had devoured the entire mission party, and that he had barely managed to escape. Unfortunately, he was too far gone to tell us the how he had gotten away. The last thing he uttered before he died was 'Rexxon'."

"Rexxon? What does that mean?" asked Saber. Lily shook her head.

"We never really knew, but we guessed that it was what the creature was called," she answered. She lowered her head before she spoke again. "Now it seems that Robotnik moved Rexxon here, and Sonic and Angel are trapped in the cavern with it. They won't survive long against it."

"You don't know Sonic very well then," said Tails as he looked back at the door. "If anyone can take down this Rexxon thing, it's him." Slasher shook her head slowly.

"I'm not sure if even Sonic can take down this creature," she said softly. Her eyes narrowed slightly before turning towards Drake. "You think you can break down the door?" Drake ran up in front of the door, looking back at the winged raptor with a sharp toothed grin.

"Give me a few minutes and I'll have this door knocked down no problem," he said as he took several steps back, then charged the metal door, head butting it with the two rock hard horns on top of his head, leaving a small dent in the metal door. He backed up slowly, shaking his head slightly. "That thing's stronger than it looks," he said under his breath before charging it again.

*****************************************

"Watch it!" cried Sonic as the giant metal serpent lunged its head at Angel, narrowly missing her as she dodged the strike. Angel whipped around and slashed at the creature with her sword, only to have it do nothing more than make sparks as it barely scratched the armor plating Rexxon sported. She turned and ran back to Sonic.

"That blasted things skin is like diamond," she said as she turned back towards the serpent.

"Which means both your sword and my spindashes will hardly do anything against it," observed Sonic as Rexxon reared back for another strike, hissing loudly as it bared its fangs at the two mobians. "Any ideas?" he asked.

"I was about to ask you the same question," she replied as she struck a defensive stance. Rexxon lunged forward again, both mobians leaping in different directions to avoid the giant serpent's fangs. Sonic landed, then ran down along the small pathway encircling the acid lake, yelling at Rexxon to draw its attention from Angel. Taking the bait, the metal snake turned to follow Sonic as he raced down the pathway. He then came to a stop, motioning upwards at Rexxon to Angel with his head.

Realizing what Sonic was doing, Angel sheathed her sword and ran back to the wall of the cavern, then ran towards the lake as fast as she could. At the last moment, she bounded off the edge of the pathway, landing on Rexxon's back. The robot reptile took no notice of the echidna as it lunged for Sonic, nearly throwing her off him as she held on for dear life. After Rexxon brought his neck back to its original position, she checked to make sure that Sonic was okay. A quick glance revealed him to still be racing around the pathway, taunting the serpent by stopping every ten seconds or so to make himself a target for about two seconds before taking off again.

_Foolish hedgehog's going to get himself killed,_ thought Angel as she turned her attention back to the task of climbing up the monster's back. "Then again, I must be a fool as well for even trying this," she mused under her breath.

*************************************

"How's it coming Drake?" asked Tails as the dragon chao rammed the door once more. Drake backed away from the door, which now sported several indentations from repeated battering.

"Not very well. I guess I'm not as strong as I thought I was," he replied, most of his earlier gusto now gone as the realization of just how thick the door really was began to sink in.

"Well, keep trying. We have to get them out of there as quickly as possible," said Cody as he watched the screen unfolding inside the cavern thanks to Nicole's holographic sensors. He was glad to see that both Sonic and Angel had thus far managed to not be killed by the monstrous creature, but as the seconds ticked by, he kept wondering just how long it would remain that way. He suddenly raised his head, then looked back over his shoulder, a scowl appearing on his face.

"Is something wrong?" asked Lily. Both Slasher and Saber also looked back down the cave, both of them baring their teeth as they took up a position at the front of the group.

"We've got company," said Cody as he aimed his laser down the cave and fired. The laser blast didn't harm the object it hit, but it did however illuminate the object. The three Magma Worms had finally caught up to them. Both of the raptors snarled as the hulking robots slithered to within twenty feet of them, then stopped. Expecting the worst, both of the raptors muscles tensed in preparation to get out of the way of the worms attack. But the attack never came. Rather, they stood as still as statues.

"What are they doing?" asked Lily.

"Waiting for orders," came a reply from behind the worms. Cody's eyes narrowed slightly, recognizing the owner of the voice. The voice's owner walked out from behind the worms, the figure's red eyes glaring down at the group as the dim light provided by Nicole's holoscreen reflected off its metallic blue body. "I'm surprised to see you all still alive. I figured only my counterpart would make it this far into the island's interior."

"You never were very good at estimating your opponents, Metal Sonic," said Cody as he extended his claws. Metal Sonic only crossed his arms in response to both the insult and Cody's gesture to a fight.

"I would not know. I have yet to find an opponent who has not died outside of the 10.54 second average time that I have kept track of," he said. "But since the master wants you all alive, I guess I cannot properly test your theory of my ability to miss calculate my estimations on your group." Metal Sonic looked up at the three robotic worms, then said, "Knock them out, but do not kill them. The master has that right reserved for himself." The high pitched screams of the three worms echoed throughout the cave as they advanced on the group of six.

"Well if it's a fight you want Mecha, then it's a fight you'll get!" cried Cody as he flew up at the worms with his claws flashing.

*****************************************

Angel held on tight as Rexxon lunged for Sonic once again, just missing the cerulean hedgehog as he moved out of the way of the strike. After Rexxon had repositioned his body again, Angel continued climbing up his back. By now, the pattern of climb, hang on, and climb again was routine, and Angel had made it up to just behind his head. Now she waited for Rexxon to strike again so that she could be sure that he wouldn't do so when she made it on top of his head. A quick glance showed that Sonic had so far managed to avoid the serpent's attempts to snag him, but she wasn't sure how much longer that wouldn't happen. Down below, Sonic stopped to taunt Rexxon once more and saw that Angel had made it to the back of his head.

"One more time," he whispered to himself. "Just come at me one more time." He ran down about a fourth of the encircling walkway's pathway before stopping to taunt the metal snake again. But this time he noticed that the serpent's head hadn't followed him as it had been doing up until that point. Worried that Rexxon might have finally noticed his rider, Sonic ran back towards the same spot he had been at to try and catch Rexxon's attention again. But before he had made it even halfway down the pathway, a giant metal tail rose forth from the acid lake and slammed down hard on the pathway just in front of Sonic. The pathway crumbled under the crushing blow of Rexxon's tail as Sonic's sneakers dug into the stone path to try and stop him from going over the edge of the now twenty foot wide drop off. Sonic finally skidded to a stop just inches from the edge, but was thrown off balance by his own momentum. Before he had a chance to catch himself, he heard a loud hiss and then felt something scoop him up.

It was only then that he realized that Rexxon had been testing him the whole time, studying his movements to pinpoint where he would go next and then set up a trap for him. As he saw the jaws of the giant serpent begin to close, he knew that his only hope was that Angel could get the Timestone free and deactivate the monster before he was swallowed. But he also knew that Rexxon wouldn't make a meal out of him without a fight. Adrenalin rushing through his veins, Sonic sprang to his feet inside the slimy mouth of the metal serpent. As the jaws came closing down around him, he quickly threw his hands up into upper part of Rexxon's mouth and pushed back against the upper jaw. He felt the jaw lock momentarily as he pushed with all his might, but a few seconds later he could feel the jaws once again in motion, slowly pushing down to close the mouth of the metallic snake.

Seeing Sonic get snatched up by Rexxon, Angel had quickly dismissed waiting for the giant snake to stop moving around. She knew she only had seconds to get to the Timestone in Rexxon's head and remove it before it swallowed Sonic whole. With speed and skill that could only be attained by her years of training, she quickly clamored up the backside and top of Rexxon's head to its forehead. Eyeing the Timestone, Angel quickly stood up, drew her sword, and aimed it tip first at the compartment holding the gemstone.

"Time to die you worthless slug," she said to herself. Suddenly, Rexxon whipped its neck forward, catching Angel off guard and throwing her headfirst off its head. She quickly inverted herself and landed with a roll on the pathway. After two rolls, she flipped onto her feet and threw her gaze up at Rexxon in time to hear Sonic's last cry before the jaws of the serpent finally closed. A sickening swallow sound echoed throughout the cavern, testament to Sonic's fate. Rexxon then turned his gaze towards Angel, who quickly took a defensive stance with sword in hand. She knew that she had little chance of defeating Rexxon now, but she wasn't about to have the same thing that happened to Sonic happen to herself.

Rexxon hissed softly, studying its new target. It had known all along that something had been climbing up its back, but it had also known that the creature was of no real threat. But when it had sensed the creature reach the point of its power source, it had decided it was better to play it safe than let the creature somehow actually remove the Timestone from its body. Finally convinced that as long as the creature stayed off its head it would be okay, it lunged at her.

Angel quickly dodge-rolled to the left, uncurled and jumped to her feet. She tried to bring her sword to bear, but Rexxon moved out of the way before the blade could make contact. Angel cursed under her breath as she watched the metal serpent rear back for another strike. But instead of lunging forward again, Rexxon let out a pained scream as it started to thrash its neck back and forth. Angel watched, wondering what was causing Rexxon to cry out in pain and fearful of what it would do should it manage to shake it off. Rexxon let out another strangled cry of pain, rearing its head straight up into the air. It let out one last cry before a ball of whirling blue quills came crashing through the back of its head.

"Sonic!" cried Angel, for the first time actually happy to see the supersonic hedgehog alive and well. Sonic uncurled as he hit against the metal siding of the cavern. It was then that Angel noticed that Sonic was grasping one of the two Power Rings that he had been keeping in his backpack. The ring was glowing brightly as Sonic drew in its power, a golden glow encasing his body as the ring's power flowed through him. She watched as he pushed himself off the cavern wall towards Rexxon before curling into another spindash. He reentered the hole his original spindash opened up in Rexxon's hide, bounced off the bottom of Rexxon's lower jaw and shot up through its forehead as he punched a second hole in Rexxon's head. Sonic then ricochet off the ceiling and off the side of the cavern before landing at the feet of Angel, Timestone in hand.

He turned to the splash sound that the now deactivated Rexxon made as its head fell into the acid lake. The metallic armor that Rexxon bore had been designed to protect it from the acid in which it lived, but with the now gaping holes in its head, the acid was free to get at the unprotected areas inside the robotic serpent. A very light white smoke rose from the lake as the last remains of Rexxon were consumed by the metal eating acid.

"Oh yuck!" cried Sonic as he finally realized that he was covered by Rexxon's digestive juices. Thick strands of slime were dripping off his body, his fur glistening from the remains of being inside the metal snake. Angel couldn't help but crack a smile as Sonic desperately wiped as much of the gunk off as he could. The results left him with several quills out of place and a disgusted look on his face. "That was the _nastiest_ experience of my life!"

"Somehow I doubt that," said Angel, not even trying to hide the amusement in her voice at Sonic's situation. Sonic's only response was a five second long glare before he shook his head and headed for the sealed exit with Angel right behind him. Sonic studied the door for a few seconds before he spotted the only place on the door where the Timestone would correctly fit. Setting the gemstone into place, the door whooshed open, the Timestone falling off the door as it rose and into Sonic's waiting hand. As they walked through the door into the nearly pitch black cave, they were surprised that no one was coming to check on them or even ask if they were okay or anything.

But as their eyes adjusted to the darker lighting, they were not ready for what had been waiting for them on the other side of the door. A Magma Worm lay on its side, oil seeping from a long slash mark running down its back for nearly three feet. Beside it sat Lily's blaster along with Nicole, a few feet from which sat Tails' crossbow with an arrow halfway loaded into place. "What the heck happened out here? Where is everyone?" asked Sonic he leaned down and picked Nicole off the stone floor. He then heard Angel suddenly inhale deeply, quickly turning towards him.

"Where's Comet!?" she cried in near hysteria. Sonic then realized that for the first time since he'd met her, she was actually genuinely concerned for someone else. He couldn't help but smile inwardly, knowing now that she did have a heart under all her rough exterior.

"I have no clue," said Sonic as he placed Nicole into his backpack, pulling out the second Power Ring while making sure not to activate it as its glow filled the tunnel. "But we're getting out of here as fast as possible before more of those blasted worms show up." A quick glance at Angel was all he needed to do to make it clear that he wasn't going to wait more than a few seconds for her to get a grip on him before he took off. Quickly grasping onto Sonic's waist, Sonic shot from his spot and sped down the cave towards the exit at nearly two hundred miles per hour.

"Can you even tell where you're going!?" cried Angel, expecting Sonic to collide with any number of walls or outstanding rocks along the path.

"I can see just fine," answered Sonic just seconds before he flew out of the mouth of the cave and came to a stop as Angel let go of him. "Wait here. I'm going to see if I can find anyone." Angel didn't even get off a reply before Sonic took off into the jungle at top speed, the trees bending nearly to the breaking point from the force of wind gust he had created.

Sighing to herself, Angel walked back to the cave entrance and sat down on one of the smaller boulders sitting near the entrance. She then leaned back on her hands and gazed up at the sky above, its color now a bright orange as dusk began to set in. The only thought going through her mind was if her chao was okay. She sat upright again, worry evident on her face. Ever since she'd become Floating Island's new Guardian, Comet had always been there to keep her company. She wasn't sure what would happen if she was gone.

Standing up, she looked back towards the area where Sonic had run off to, a frown covering over the worry she felt. It was time her little "alliance" with the Freedom Fighters was terminated. She was content to be among them, to follow them blindly as it seemed they were doing, but not if it meant Comet was going to be a victim of their actions. She turned to walk away, hoping to slip away without Sonic knowing about it and go find Comet on her own. But she had taken less than ten steps when some unseen force yanked hard at her scabbard, undoing the strap while at the same time throwing Angel onto her back.

"What the heck!?" she cried, trying to scramble to her feet. She managed to get to one leg before it was kicked out from underneath her, knocking her to the ground again. Knowing now that someone was for sure attacking her, she quickly flipped upright, searching for her sword. After a few seconds, she spotted it sitting on the ground about twenty feet behind her. "I know you are there. Show yourself!" she hollered.

But nothing answered her challenge except for dead silence. Angel quickly ran to grab her sword, but right before her hand grasped it, the sword jerked to the side and something struck her in the stomach with enough force to both knock the wind out of her as well as send her flying back several yards into the boulder she had been resting on.

"I would have figured you a little smarter than that, echidna. Falling for such a simple ploy," said a voice. Angel struggled to both get back on her feet and breathe again from having the wind knocked out of her. She couldn't help but also feel a little angry at herself. She _had_ fallen prey to a very simple trick. Slowly, she managed to get back on her feet. Her breathing was still a little shaky, but she quickly recovered. She tried to find her sword again, the only clue as to where her adversary was hiding. After a few seconds, she spotted it hovering about fifteen feet behind her. She turned to face her sword, this time not making a move towards it.

"Coward. Do you really have to resort to such trickery to beat me?" she asked. A low growl could be heard coming from near her sword, accompanied by a constant humming sound.

"So, I am a coward, am I?" asked the voice. Whatever force was holding up Angel's sword dropped it to the ground, the humming noise disappearing into the wind. "Well, to be honest, even though I have a score to settle with you, it is not you I want." Angel stood unflinching as the sound of footsteps started to emit from next to her sword, crossing the gap between them before coming to stop only a couple feet from her. She stood there trying to catch a glimpse of anything that might give her opponent's actions away, but to no avail. The next thing Angel felt was the incredible pain from a powerful blow to the side of her head, followed by the feeling of the cold ground as she collapsed. Everything became fuzzy for a couple of seconds as she tried to get one last glance of her attacker before darkness claimed her. The air next to Angel's unconscious body wavered slightly as a form began to take shape. The first thing that took shape were the person's eerily glowing red eyes, followed next by a gleaming sliver muzzle and polished blue head. The rest of the person's form quickly materialized, revealing the form of Metal Sonic. "I want the hedgehog."

***********************************

"Come on Angel! This isn't funny!" hollered Sonic as he ran through the island's jungle, Angle's sword strapped to his back. Having not found any trace of the others, he had raced back only to find Angel missing, her discarded sword the only indication of her having even been there. Simple annoyance had quickly turned into worry and regret at leaving her alone. Even now that had become replaced by extreme fear of what had happened to the pink furred echidna as Sonic exited the thick jungle interior of the island and came upon the sandy beaches that surrounded the coast. The sight that greeted his exit of the jungle caused him to skid to a stop, nearly tripping over his own feet as he came to a complete stop in mid run.

"I was beginning to wonder if you would show your face to me hedgehog," hissed Metal Sonic as he stood on the sandy beach, an unconscious Angel held up in the air by the back of her shirt. "Now stand where you are and listen to what I have to say, or else I will kill her without hesitation." Sonic's hands curled into fists as his face turned into a scowl, the only outward appearances of his anger as he nodded to the mecha bot.

"Good," said Metal Sonic as he eyed Sonic, taking in his first real life look at the cerulean hedgehog. "I am well aware of the fact that I was created in your image. To be an exact copy of you in both appearance and speed. Do you not agree that this is true?" he asked.

"Aside from the fact that you're easily uglier than I am and your speed is sub-par to my own, then yes," said Sonic. Metal Sonic's eyes flashed for a split second, then only outward appearance that Sonic's comment had angered him. Still, he managed a smirk of amusement.

"You also know I was created to kill you, correct?" he asked.

"Yeah. That fact's been proven to me time and again," answered Sonic, not sure where Metal Sonic was going with his questioning of why he was created.

"Yet I have never actually seen you in real life till just now," said Metal Sonic as his free hand curled into a fist. "Do you know how frustrating it is to live every single day knowing that the very thing you were created to destroy was already gone before you were even activated?" he asked, his voice rising ever higher as he spoke.

"Can't say I have," said Sonic, trying not to enrage Metal Sonic to the point of him boiling over, though he wasn't sure that anything could calm him down at this point as he saw Metal Sonic stomp his foot into the ground, burying it a couple inches in the soft sand.

"Well I do!" cried Metal Sonic. "Every day I wonder if I truly was better than you! If I was as good as you, or was I even better?" Slowly, he calmed himself back down to a somewhat stable emotional state. "I lost interest in killing you long ago."

"Well, if you no longer have the urge to shred me into a million pieces, then what is it you want from me?" asked Sonic. Metal Sonic looked down at the ground with a mechanical sigh, his angry attitude now replaced by what looked to Sonic like a mixture of wondering and reassignment.

"I no longer care about the struggles of the war that is constantly being fought around me. No longer do I care about even my own welfare. The thrill to hunt you down and finish my programming has long since eroded into just one question. Was I better than you? Was it possible for me to beat the fastest thing that had ever lived on this planet? Was I your superior, or was I simply a cheap mechanical imitation?" said Metal Sonic. He paused slightly as if lost in a train of thought, then looked up at Sonic again, this time a smile spreading across his face. "But now that you are here in the flesh, I can finally put my question to rest. One way or another, I will know the truth."

"If all you want to do is test yourself against me, then fine, but leave Angel out of this," said Sonic.

"I wish I could, but then I can't know for certain that you will show up to the surprise that I have waiting for you. This echidna will be my insurance for that part. Do not worry, for she will not be harmed for now," said Metal Sonic, taking to the air. "However, if you want to see her alive again, listen carefully to these instructions and do not follow me when I leave or I will kill her without hesitation. In one hour, a remote controlled hovercraft will land at this location. It will take you to meet me at a special raceway that I myself designed for the day I would finally answer my questions concerning you and me. When you get there, I will explain how the challenge will work. Till then, hedgehog!" With that, Metal Sonic turned his back to Sonic and shot towards the mainland, the hum of his engine fading into the sound of the waves splashing against the shore. Sonic dropped to his knees, slamming his fists into the soft sand, his eyes closed tightly shut in frustration.

"Don't you worry Angel," whispered Sonic as he slowly looked up in the direction Metal Sonic had left in. "I'll save you even if it kills me." True to his word, one hour later found Sonic on a hover-unit bound for Metal Sonic's raceway, Angel's sword strapped to his back beneath his backpack.

*******************************************

_Today is the day I've waited countless years for,_ thought Metal Sonic as he surveyed the raceway before him, the twilight of the approaching nightfall slowly turning the sky dark. It was a complex structure covering several square miles. The track itself was a twenty foot wide road that went through sharp turns, up and down walls, did loops, and even corkscrews as it wound itself around the surrounding countryside. Bright streetlights lit every inch of the roadway, leaving no part of the track untouched by light. _This will be the day that I finally find out once and for all which of us is superior. Hedgehog or machine. Today, I will know the truth._ The familiar whine of a hover-unit's engine broke his train of thought, his attention turning to the craft as it flew by overhead and began to circle the landing pad on the other side of the track as it made its final approach. He looked up at the still unconscious Angel, who had her hands and feet tied firmly to the last lamppost on the track.

"Seems the hedgehog has finally arrived my dear. I guess it would be rude of me to not greet him," mused Metal Sonic as he looked back at the hover-unit as it started its decent towards the landing pad. "Let's just hope you're awake to witness the final chapter in his life. I would hate to be the only one to know how he met his end this day." He smiled to himself as he fired up his engine, taking off towards the platform, his laughter echoing all around, fading into the night as the sun finally set in the distance, ushering in the star lit sky above.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Sonic walked down the ramp of the hover-unit with a bit of force behind his steps, his face baring a scowl that he rarely had except when he was completely serious. His fists were clenched tightly as he came to a stop at the edge of the landing pad. He watched with a glare as Metal Sonic descended from above, the soft blue glow of his exhaust flame somehow both eerie and calming at the same time as he came to rest on the ground just a few feet away from Sonic.

"Welcome, my honored guest," said Metal Sonic, bowing towards Sonic, who didn't know if the mecha bot was mocking him or if all this time of not having to fight him _had_ actually gotten to him somewhat. "Welcome…to Stardust Speedway. Designed to be handled by only the fastest people to ever walk Mobius," he said, turning and gesturing with his clawed hand to the gigantic race track behind them. "Fifteen square miles of countryside transformed into over a hundred miles of track. Each mile covered with obstacles that would kill anyone that doesn't have split second reaction times. Each obstacle set to over 1.3 million combinations that constantly rotate randomly at over a hundred combinations a second so that even I can't calculate which combination will happen next." He then looked back at Sonic, a grin on his face. "The perfect place to determine which of us is the best," he hissed gleefully.

"You really didn't have to go to all the trouble for little old me, Mecha," said Sonic with a smirk as he crossed his arms. His eyes then narrowed even more than they had been when he had stepped off the hover-unit, his smirk doing a complete one eighty. "But I won't race you until you tell me what you did with Angel."

"Ah yes. The echidna," said Metal Sonic. "She is safe at the other end of the track, secured to one of the lampposts just past the finish line."

"You better not have hurt her," growled Sonic through clenched teeth. Metal Sonic only smiled.

"And here I thought you two didn't get along," he said in amusement. "Truthfully, I didn't think you'd show up. The way you two bicker at each other I figured I was doing you a favor."

"We may not see eye to eye," said Sonic as he stepped up in Metal Sonic's face, pointing a finger hard into his chest. "But I _never_ leave a friend behind, much less in the company of someone like you." Metal Sonic chuckled slightly, then brushed Sonic's finger away.

"Such enduring commentary. How do you organics say it...?" he asked, doing a slight mock of the Thinker pose before he looked up a second later with a smirk on his face. "Ah yes! 'Makes me want to puke.'"

"Enough of this stupid conversation," said Sonic, walking past Metal Sonic and heading towards the track. "I'm ready to show you just why I was and still am the better of the two of us." Metal Sonic eyes narrowed slightly as he turned to follow Sonic, but didn't let any other external sign show that he had taken offense to the insult. The two of them walked down the ramp that lead from the landing pad to the city sized track below, saying nothing to each other. Words were not needed though as their footsteps ringing loudly off the metallic ramp as they descended at a somewhat faster than a walk pace told each other everything they were thinking about the other person.

"So any particular rules to this race I should know about before we start this thing?" asked Sonic, looking back over his shoulder at Metal Sonic.

"Cross the finish line first or you'll die. Simple as that," said Metal Sonic.

"Mind elaborating just a little bit there Mecha?" asked Sonic, looking at the mecha bot with annoyance evident on his face. Metal Sonic let out a slightly static sounding sigh, his pupils rolling in the black void of his eyes as the two of them reached the starting line.

"Very well hedgehog," he hissed as he took his place at the line. "Simply put, both of us will be chased this whole race by a high powered laser beam that I've installed in a hover-unit that I've personally modified just for this race. It will start after us five seconds into the race. It will then follow us from the starting line to the finish line, always keeping about fifty yards behind whichever of us is behind the other. Whoever crosses the finish line first will cause a force field to instantly be activated that will enclose the entire track, trapping the loser inside it to be ultimately destroyed by the laser as it will then automatically accelerate to over six hundred miles per hour, almost instantly catching up to the loser and blowing them to pieces." Sonic merely smirked at this, shaking his head.

"You really do want me dead. Just like you always have, right?" he asked. Metal Sonic returned the smirk.

"An added bonus is never a bad thing," he replied.

"And what happens to Angel?" asked Sonic, his once amused attitude instantly back to being serious.

"The winner shall decide that. Just know that if I should win, she will die," answered Metal Sonic as he took his position at the line.

"That won't happen," said Sonic as he took his own place at the line. He then said low enough that Metal Sonic's audio sensors couldn't detect it, "You can count on it."

*****************************************

The first thing Angel felt was the painful sensation in the back of her head leftover from Metal Sonic's assault as she slowly regained consciousness. She let out a small groan as the pain doubled for a split second before returning to just a very dull ache. She wanted nothing more than to return to the dreamless sleep she had been in when the sudden feeling of being suspended by her wrists woke her with a start. Her eyes shot open, immediately squinting shut again as the head pain doubled again from her quick reaction. She looked up again, this time slower as she tried to keep the pain in check this time around. The first thing she saw was the bright light of the lamppost she was bound to, followed after her eyes adjusted to the light by the view of her hands tied together by metallic cable.

"Oh that's just great," she mumbled as she looked down to see her feet tied by the ankles with the same kind of cable. "I swear, whoever did this will not know suffering until I get done with them!" she cried, her voice climbing every word she spoke till she was screaming at the top of her lungs, which she regretted as the pain nearly tripled from the outburst. She sighed, resigning herself to the situation since she knew for a fact that she couldn't get the leverage needed to break the bonds with her own strength. The only thing she could do was hope that whoever or whatever it was that had bound her to the lamppost would return and untie her. She couldn't help but crack a small smile as she thought of how utterly ridiculous that the idea that her captor would free her actually sounded.

***************************************

"Oh, I almost forgot two small details," said Metal Sonic as a hover-unit with a drag strip style light array mounted on the upper fuselage came to a hover above the track. "If you leave the track for any reason or try and go hyper during the race, the track will sense both your body heat leaving the marked area of the track as well as the chaos energy being put out by the transformation and instantly send over one hundred thousand volts of electricity flowing through the very lamppost that the echidna is bound to, instantly killing her." Sonic looked over at Metal Sonic with a horrified look on his face.

"By the heavens of Mobius!" he cried, his horror stricken face turning fast into one of anger. "You think you could've said something a little sooner than right before we start!? I might want to know that you know!" he yelled. Metal Sonic merely looked over at him with a passive look.

"Be thankful that I did tell you instead of letting you find out that little bit of information on your own," he answered before looking back towards the starting lights. Sonic did nothing more than narrow his eyes slightly before he returned his own gaze back to the lights as the top red pair flashed five times before becoming solid. Sonic's ears perked slightly as the low hum of Metal Sonic's engine began to issue forth from the center of the mecha bot, slowly picking up in intensity as the second pair below it became solid, quickly followed by the third.

"Now we shall see who is the superior one, hedgehog," said Metal Sonic as the first of the two pairs of yellow lights lit up. Sonic braced himself to take off as the second pair turned on. He then felt the heat wave of the laser mounted on the hover-unit twenty yards behind them as the weapon became active, but didn't flinch as the final second ticked off the timer and the green light ignited. Instantly the two competitors shot from their spots, each one accelerating to over two hundred miles per hour in under four seconds.

_Now it's time to see exactly what Mecha's track has in store for me,_ thought Sonic as he raced alongside Metal Sonic, each of them watching the other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Sonic was determined to let Metal Sonic make the first move, but had to abandon it as the first obstacle sprang up from the ground at him in the form of a patch of barbed spikes stretching across his entire side of the track. Sonic quickly slowed enough to allow Metal Sonic to get ahead slightly, then immediately jumped to the left, setting off another set of spikes in front of him, forcing him to dodge to the right just as quickly. This, in turn, set off yet another patch of spikes, this time on both sides of the tracks, forcing him to jump them. As he landed on the track, he glance up to see Metal Sonic looking on, amusement clearly written on his metallic face. Sonic glared angrily at him, noting that Metal Sonic had no need to avoid the spikes as he did since he hovered above them.

"Figures he's not having to put as much effort into this as I am," grumbled Sonic to himself, though he would quickly correct himself as all of a sudden several small, mosquito-like robots came raining down like mad at the two of them, most of them aimed at Metal Sonic with their nearly half foot long spiked noses. The mecha bot swerved left and right, ascended and descended as fast as he could to keep ahead of the robots, Sonic following suit on the ground as the few that tracked him caused him to have to juke left or right quickly to avoid getting hit. _Guess I spoke too soon,_ thought Sonic as he watched Metal Sonic's aerial maneuvers, using the distraction the robots were causing to the mecha bot to regain the distance he had lost during his own avoidance of the track's perils.

As the two of them raced past the last of the dive bombing robots, the track took a sharp left turn towards the first loop of the track. Sonic reached it a split second ahead of Metal Sonic, racing up the circular embankment of the loop with Metal Sonic hot on his heels. As the two of them came into the last quarter of the loop, Sonic curled into a spindash and rolled down the slope, gaining a few precious yards on Metal Sonic as he jumped up out of the spindash and resumed running. He could hear Metal Sonic cursing behind him, but choose not to look back for fear he might run right into one of the tracks traps.

It was this and only this that saved him from the next one as the track's floor caved in just in front of Sonic, who only evaded the now gaping hole due to his reflexes as he jumped to the left side of the track. But as soon as he landed, a second hole opened in the track directly in front of him, causing him to have to jump back to the right to avoid it. Then a third hole appeared, but this time Sonic wasn't as lucky as he lost his footing trying to get out of the way, falling into the hole. He heard Metal Sonic race past him and was about to jump out of the hole to give chase when something rose up from below, causing him to fall into a sitting position. Looking down, he saw he was sitting on the face of a giant robotic lion ant, its pinchers primed to crush him. Pushing off with both his hands and feet at the same time, Sonic managed to avoid the pinchers just as they slammed together. Sonic flew up out of the hole, did a forward flip, and landed on the concert floor of the track. He then instantly took off after Metal Sonic who was now a good couple hundred yards in front of him.

The race continued like this for over three-fourths of the track, the two of them trading positions constantly from avoiding various traps ranging from coming under laser fire, whirling blades being thrown at them by mantis-like robots, or simply one of them taking advantage of the track's layout. As the two of them came down to the last ten miles of the track, a perfect straightaway, it was Metal Sonic in the lead by about fifty yards. It was on the straightaway that Sonic knew that he'd have to make a move or risk losing not only the race, but both his life and Angel's. Throwing caution to the wayside, Sonic braced himself for an all-out burst of speed.

_Guess now's as good a time as any to find out if Mecha ever fixed his speed problem or not_, thought Sonic to himself as he shot forward, rapidly gaining speed as he started to close the gap with Metal Sonic. As he came within twenty yards of his robotic doppelganger, he could already feel the sound barrier resisting his advance. He found it kind of funny in the fact that it comforted him to feel it pushing against him, while simultaneously annoyed him that it resisted his effort to push past it. As he came within five yards of Metal Sonic, he pushed harder against the barrier. As he came right up next to Metal Sonic, he felt it give way, a sonic boom sounding as he shot passed him. By now, they were within five miles of the finish line, the gap between the two of them growing by the millisecond as Sonic pushed himself to the max, reaching over seven hundred seventy miles per hour as he blazed down the track.

Behind him, however, Metal Sonic's only response to the sudden reversal of positioning in the race was a light chortle. Suddenly, his body began emitting a dazzling display of electrical energy as his whole body was bathed in a bright blue glow as he drew upon the power of the Timestone embedded in his body. Metal Sonic suddenly shot forward, his speed increasing drastically as the gap between him and Sonic closed in less than a second as he slammed full force into Sonic's back, sending the cerulean hedgehog flying to the concert floor. Luckily, Sonic avoided more than just a couple of really sore bruises by quickly curling into a spindash just before he hit face first, though he lost all of his momentum as the spindash wasn't guided by his own movement, but by improvising. Also, the sword and backpack strapped to his back didn't help improve the situation as both nearly caused him to completely wipe out since he hadn't been prepared to take their presence into account when he'd curled into a ball. He uncurled himself as he slowed to about a quarter of the speed he'd been moving, able to just barely regain his footing.

"What on Mobius was that!?" he cried as he tried to get the slight dizzy feeling he had to go away. Metal Sonic, however, had cut whatever it was that had propelled him forward and was now cruising along behind Sonic, the blue glow and electricity having vanished as the two of them came within the last mile of the track. But after seeing Sonic get slammed to the ground as hard as he had, Metal Sonic couldn't resist his most basic instinctual programming any longer.

"That was me, _hedgehog_!" he heard Metal Sonic cry. He looked back over his shoulder just in time to see Metal Sonic lash out at him with his razor sharp claws, slicing them into Sonic's left arm, leaving four bloody claw marks in their wake. Sonic cried out in pain, his eyes shutting instinctually from the pain, which was all Metal Sonic needed to follow through with a slash from his other clawed hand at Sonic's legs, knocking them out from underneath him as well as cutting four long gashes in the lower backside of his left leg, each one oozing blood.

Sonic's cry doubled in volume, echoing in the distance as it carried for miles over the open countryside. Sonic collapsed to the track's floor, unable to stand the pain that now coursed through his two left limbs. His eyes remained slammed shut, unable to open them due to the pain. His ears still worked just fine, but right now he wished they were as useful to him as his eyes were, because all he heard was the sound of Metal Sonic's laughter. However, Sonic did notice a difference in this Metal Sonic's laugh compared to the one in his own timeline. It was much more...hysteria filled. Almost reaching a point of madness. Slowly, the laughter died as Metal Sonic looked down at Sonic.

"I knew it..." whispered Metal Sonic. " I _am_ the superior!" he then cried as he stood over Sonic, watching him writher in pain. "Ever since I was first brought online, I was told that I was inferior to you._ You_! A mere organic who can't even tolerate _this_ slightly moderate damage!" He kicked Sonic hard in the stomach, forcing him to gasp for air as the wind was knocked out of him. "You are nothing more than a pathetic flesh and blood creature. I am one of the most powerful machines to ever exist!" He watched with both amusement and anger as Sonic slowly got into a sitting position, he arms crossed over his chest.

"Ha! I dare you!" he yelled. "Go hyper and kill your little echidna friend!" Sonic slowly uncrossed his arms, knowing that everything he'd done up to now would be in vain if he did go hyper. _Not that it matters much, seeing as how I can't go hyper even if I wanted too_, he thought to himself. Metal Sonic only laughed as he watched Sonic surrender his best chance to beat him. "Your emotions make you weak, just as I always pictured you as being," he said softly before he resumed his laughter. Sonic looked up at him, defiance still etched into his face.

"You're one to talk, Mecha," hissed Sonic. "You learned how to have emotions, but unlike you, I don't let them overtake who I am. You, however, have always been ruled by that one stupid emotion of hatred you have always had towards me. It rules you! It controls you!" he spat. Metal Sonic's laughter instantly turned to rage as he clenched his clawed hands into fists.

"Nothing controls me, let alone my own programming!" he hollered as he punched Sonic hard in the face, knocking him on his back as he split open the hedgehog's lip, causing it to bleed. Metal Sonic then smirked as he turned away from Sonic. He then lowered his voice to an almost eerie silence. "I would kill you now if not for the fact that I want you to suffer immensely before I do. And there are far worse things than pain to inflict suffering!" he cried, shouting the last three words. With that, Metal Sonic shot from his spot towards the finish line. _Oh smooth move,_ though Sonic to himself as he let out a loud gasp of pain as he managed to get back onto his feet, though he had to hold onto one of the lampposts to do so. _Like he wasn't off kilter enough without me provoking him._ Reaching into his pack, he grasped the one thing he prayed would put an end to the confrontation.

**********************************

Angel slowly opened her eyes as she heard the faint hum of something in the distance. _Nice..._she thought to herself. _Here I am tied to a pole, not having a clue what's going on, and I'm off in dreamland._ She looked over towards the sound of the noise, but nothing accompanied it that she could see. She squinted her eyes, thinking she had seen something off in the distance. It was then she made out an object coming her way, though it was too far away to tell if it was a person or not. The only thing she could see was faint blue glow growing ever brighter. After a few more seconds, she recognized the ever increasing hum as it drew closer.

"Great. It's about time I meet face to face with that cheap shot," she hissed, trying once again to break her bonds, but only succeeding in rubbing her wrists and ankles even more raw from her earlier attempts. She looked back towards the glow, but this time, it was accompanied by a faint golden glow that was growing brighter even faster than the blue glow. "What is that?"

***********************************

"The nerve of that hedgehog," grumbled Metal Sonic to himself as he cruised down the track at little over a hundred miles per hour. He smiled to himself as he spied the finish line in the distance. _We'll see just how cocky he is once he has the death of that female echidna hanging over his head right before he dies a fiery death to the laser._ Suddenly, without warning, something giving of a golden glow rocketed past Metal Sonic, setting off a sonic boom as it flew by. Metal Sonic threw up a curse as he tried to steady himself in mid air as the wind from the sonic boom nearly threw him to the ground. He looked up as he righted himself, his pupils glowing so bright in rage that they practically covered the whole black of his eyes with their light.

"No chance _hedgehog_!" he screamed as loud as he could, drawing on the power of the Timestone once again, his hull bursting into electrical energy as his body became encased in the same blue glow as before as he shot forward, setting off his own sonic boom as he chased after the golden blur. "You have _no _chance at all!"

_That's what you think,_ thought Sonic as he pushed himself to his maximum, his hand grasping the second and last Power Ring that had been in his pack. The pain had dulled enough from the ring's power to allow him to be running like he was, though he feared he might be doing serious damage to his leg by pulling this stunt. Right now, however, that was at the back of his mind as he pushed his speed to over a thousand miles per hour thanks to the power of the ring.

He looked back over his shoulder to see Metal Sonic was still closing fast from the Timestone's power coursing through his metallic body. He looked forward, the finish line just a few seconds away from them. _This is gonna be way too close,_ he thought. By now, Metal Sonic had come within ten feet of Sonic, reaching out with a clawed hand as he started to close the last bit of gap between the two of them.

"You're _mine_!" he cried, the tips of his claws touching the top quill of Sonic's quill style. He started to squeeze his hand into a fist, but right before he had a solid grip on it, he was slammed hard in the front by an invisible force, throwing him back to the ground as the blue glow and electrical field faded from his hull. He slowly got to his hands and knees, looking up to see Sonic barely standing on his feet, his breathing a little labored as he leaned against the lamppost that Angel was tied to for support as both of them looked at him with a look of pure hatred etched on both of their faces. It was then Metal Sonic realized that he had lost the race, the force field he'd installed into the track having been what had thrown him to the ground. He looked back to see the laser that had patiently been following them from a distance the whole race come racing towards him, intent to finish its mission of destroying the loser of the race.

"It really was true this whole time..." he whispered to himself as he turned to look back at Sonic, all his anger and rage at the blue hedgehog now gone as the truth he had been searching for finally made itself known to him after years of wondering. "He _is_ the superior one of us." And with that, the laser finally flew by overhead, Metal Sonic's body exploding into flaming shrapnel as the beam poured its destructive power over him. Both Sonic and Angel watched as the flaming metallic parts of Metal Sonic clattered to the ground, almost everything but his head and upper chest completely unrecognizable as the laser shut off, waiting patiently for an order from its master that would never come.

"Good riddance," whispered Sonic, slowly drawing Angel's sword from the scabbard behind his back. He looked up at her, noticing that she was still staring at the spot Metal Sonic had been just a couple of seconds ago. "Hey, you okay up there?" he asked. Angel shook herself from her daydream, then looked down at him.

"What took you so long?" she asked, her voice filled with annoyance, but at the same time having a hint of gratitude behind it even as her face scowled at him. Sonic couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"Glad to see you too," he said as he raised the blade up next to the cables holding her ankles. "Now hold still. Last thing I need to do is cut a nice gash in your foot or hand." Sonic then quickly, but carefully, cut the cable away from both her feet and hands. Angel rubbed her sore wrists as Sonic put her sword away. However, just as soon as he sheathed her sword, he started to collapse, the pain that had been deluded from the Power Ring now returning in a rush as the last of the ring's power faded from his body. Angel quickly caught him as he fell, quickly throwing his good arm over her back to help support him.

"Whoa there," she said, steadying him as he cringed in pain.

"Thanks," he said as he regained his footing somewhat with her help. "We still need to get the Timestone from him and figure out where the others are."

"I'll get it," she said, helping him sit down on the pavement before walking over to the flaming wreckage of the once proud mecha bot. It didn't take her long to find the green gemstone, seeing as how it had been blown out of his body from the force of the explosion and came to rest pretty much out in the open. As she bent down to pick it up, however, she froze. Sonic noticed and was about to ask what was wrong, but choose not to say anything when he saw that she was staring right at what remained of Metal Sonic's head. Two of the metal quills had been blown completely off, and the nose had all but melted away as well as the eyes, but it was still recognizably his head. But the thing that had truly stopped him from saying anything was the tears he could clearly see welling up in the echidna's eyes.

"You..." he heard Angel say, barely audible, but clear as a bell. He saw her reach for her sword, quickly drawing it and raising it high above her head, then slamming it blade first down on the remains of Metal Sonic's head, shattering it into four smaller chunks. "You…_monster_!" she yelled, slamming the blade down on each individual chunk of Metal Sonic's head as fast as she could, the process repeating itself till there was almost nothing left but metal shards of the head.

Angel didn't care anymore. She didn't care that Sonic was only ten yards away from her, watching everything. Nothing mattered to her anymore at this moment in time as tears streamed unchecked down her cheeks. She collapsed into a crying heap on the ground, all her restraint and control gone as she openly cried for the first time in years. Sonic couldn't stand it anymore as he slowly got to his feet despite the pain and limped over next to her. He kneeled down beside her, placing his hand on her shoulder, scaring her as she gasped, pulling back from his touch.

"Are you okay?" asked Sonic. Angel turned and looked him in the eye, and for the first time since she'd met him, she saw not the person she hated most looking back at her, but rather someone who was in many ways just like Comet. Someone who she now knew was not an enemy, but instead a friend.

"Oh Sonic!" she cried, burying her face into his chest as her crying began anew. Sonic wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her down. It took a couple of minutes, but finally he calmed her down enough that she was able to regain her composure somewhat. He looked at her as she sniffed a few times and wiped the last of the dried out tear streaks from her face, waiting for her to say the first thing. She caught on, but shook her head as she picked up the Timestone lying on the ground next to them.

"I'll tell you later…after I'm sure I won't have another breakdown while I'm telling it to you," she whispered as she got back to her feet, offering Sonic a hand to help him back up. "Besides, we need to get you fixed up." Sonic felt and looked a little confused by Angel's sudden reverse in attitude towards him, but brushed it off as he took her hand, getting pulled up to his feet as she wrapped his arm around her back again to support him.

"Before we go, we have to find out where the others are," he said. His eyes suddenly lit up as he thought of the perfect way to find them. Reaching around into his pack, he pulled Nicole out and opened her up, pressing seven buttons in a certain order. "Let's just hope Sal's old program is still in here," he said. The little computer began beeping very fast as it ran the coding through its hard drive.

_"Override Protocol Hedgehog online. Please enter Voice Recognition Password,"_ said Nicole.

"Password…Mutski," said Sonic. Nicole beeped four more times before her screen lit up.

_"Password accepted. Hello Sonic. It is good to hear you again after so many years,"_ said Nicole.

"Good to hear you too Nicole," said Sonic with a smile. He then looked over at Angel, who had a look of confusion written on her face. "Back when the war had just started, Sal implanted Nicole with an override program that each of her closest friends could activate by entering a certain code on the key pad and then giving a vocal password," he said, then bowed his head, his next words heavy with grief. "It was to ensure that if anything happened to her, we'd still be able to use Nicole to help us with anything technical we needed help with."

"I see," said Angel. She then frowned as a question popped in her mind. "Who or what is a 'Mutski'?" Sonic smiled as the name brought back many fun memories to him.

"Mutski was my dog, or rather, my Uncle Chuck's dog. He was always a handful, but he was still a good friend," said Sonic. He then returned his attention to the mini computer. "Nicole. Can you find out where the last four Timestones are, cause with any luck our friends will be where they are as well." Nicole beeped a couple of times, then brought up a holographic map of the quarter of Little Planet they were currently on, two red lights blinking every couple of seconds.

_"Timestones located. Three are located approximately fifteen miles to the northwest and are currently stationary. The fourth is approximately twenty seven miles to the east and is moving towards the west at approximately ten miles per hour,"_ answered Nicole.

"One of them is moving?" said Sonic, his left eyebrow rising in confusion. He then looked over at Angel. "You don't think Robotnik's sent something else after us, do you?" Angel merely shrugged.

"Don't know. But in either case, we still need to get you patched up or you won't be good to anyone," she said. Angel then looked up at the night sky.

"What are you looking at?" asked Sonic, turning his own gaze up to the star strung sky.

"Trying to figure out which way is north from where we are. There was a forest about an hour's walk from here to the north that I saw when we were passing by overhead when we first arrived on Little Planet. Hopefully, we can find the herbs I need to make some healing salve for those nasty gashes," she answered as she finally spotted what passed as Mobius' equivalent of Earth's North Star. "There we go. You think you can manage a little walk?"

"Maybe," he said. He then took a step forward, and felt pain shoot through his entire left leg, nearly paralyzing it. "Or maybe not..." he said, steadying himself with Angel's help.

"So now what?" she asked. Sonic gave a long sigh, then shook his head.

"I suppose I'll just have to tough it out. It may take us some time, but it's better than staying here and having whatever has that lone Timestone find us," he said as he started to take a step forward, but Angel jerked him to a stop.

"You're not walking, period. Last thing we need is you screwing yourself up more than you already have," she said as she took a step in front of Sonic, kneeling down. "I'll carry you." Sonic was taken completely aback by this sudden gesture, sending a red flag soaring in his mind.

"What's the catch? You gonna accidentally drop me or something?" he asked. Angel's head turned back towards him with a glare.

"No, now get on," she hissed at him. "Like you said, we don't want to be spotted by patrols." Reluctantly, Sonic wrapped his good arm around Angel's neck as she lifted him off the ground. She then turned towards the north, beginning the hour long trek towards the forest.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

It had been nearly half an hour since the two mobians had entered the forest north of Metal Sonic's speedway, the moonlight shining down from above, illuminating the areas where the underbrush was short enough to walk through without danger of stepping on some foreign object. As they came into a clearing, Angel took a quick glance around before giving her head a slight nod.

"This'll be a good place to stop for the night, I think," she said as she walked over next to a tall, thick tree where she helped Sonic sit with his back to it to support him.

"Thanks," he said.

"Sure," she said, getting back upright. "I'll go see if I can find those herbs. You just rest. But if you see anything unusual, give a shout." Turning her back to Sonic, she then start to head off into the woods.

"Angel..." called Sonic's voice, stopping her in her tracks. She turned her head back towards him. "Are you going to be okay?" She saw his face looking at her, filled with worry for her. Worry. Other than Comet, no one had ever truly worried about her since she was only eight years old. _Comet,_ she thought, _I pray you're all right, wherever you are._ The though of Comet almost sent her over the edge again, but she held it down, then looked forward again.

"I'll be back with those herbs in a little bit," she said, Sonic taking note that her voice contained a trace of grief in it, before she walked into the thicker parts of the woods and disappeared from sight. Half an hour past before she returned, carrying several different roots and leaves as well as a couple of smooth, flat rocks and several large, palm tree-like leaves. For the next ten minutes, the two of them sat in total silence as Angel ground the leaves and roots between the two rocks, the mixture taking on a paste-like quality.

"This might sting quite a bit for a little while," Angel said as she scooped some of the paste up on her fingers. Sonic merely nodded his head before hissing in pain as she applied a small amount to each of the claw marks on his arm. She then took half of the palm tree leaves she'd brought back and wrapped them around his arm tight, using some of the pasty mixture as an adhesive to hold the leaves in place. She then proceeded to do the same to his leg, taking care not to cause any more pain than what was necessary to apply the makeshift bandage. "There," she said as she secured the last leaf. "Now just don't move too much and both your arm and leg should be better by morning."

"Seriously?" asked Sonic, looking at her in disbelief. She nodded.

"Seriously. This herbal remedy was past down to me by my mother, who learned it from her mother, and so on. The mixture of leaves and roots I used makes a very powerful healing paste that stings like crazy, but speeds up recovery over a hundred fold for flesh wounds. The only real problem is that the herbs are not real common and only someone that knows where to look for them has any real chance of finding them," she said as she sat down, taking her sword off her back and leaning it and herself up against a tree across from Sonic, who noticed that she was fiddling with her far left dreadlock, her face full of nervousness as well as a sense of regret.

"You okay?" he asked, not wanting to pry, but at the same time certain that unless he did, she'd continue to keep whatever was bothering her bottled up inside. Angel looked up at him, then gave a very long sigh before tossing her dreadlock back over her shoulder.

"Not really," she said, hesitation clearly in her voice. "I...want to..." she started, looking down towards the ground to her left. "I want to say...I'm sorry," she whispered.

"For what?" asked Sonic, genuinely confused. She looked back up at him, her face contorted into a look that Sonic couldn't really place emotion wise, but seemed somewhere between anger and loss.

"For everything," she said, her eyes slamming shut. "For the way I've treated you since we met." Sonic could see tears starting to form in her eyes again, which really started to worry him. In the time he'd known Angel, he had never once seen her so emotionally unstable. She had always held her emotions in check, buried beneath her rough and gruff attitude. But now, seeing her like this, he knew that something had snapped inside her, and the pain and anguish of something was seeping through the cracks.

"You don't have to apologize. You were just being yourself," said Sonic, trying to calm her down. Angel shook her head back and forth almost violently.

"No! I have to!" she yelled back at him. She then gasped as she realized she had yelled at him. She tilted her head down again, but her eyes looked back up at the blue hedgehog. "You look so much like him. So very much. I wanted to believe you were him so much that I lashed out at you without even realizing it, even if I knew deep down you weren't him." Sonic raised an eyebrow at this.

"Who do I look like? What are you talking about?" he asked.

"That...thing that you were racing back there," she said. She curled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "When I saw him...When I got my first real good look at his face, I knew it was him. Those eyes…I will never forget those eyes..." she said, her mind trailing off.

"Whoa whoa. Time out," said Sonic, making a "T" with his hands, wincing slightly from the sting that shot through his left arm from the effort. "Back up here a second. What do you mean you knew that it was him?" Angel hesitated for a few seconds before she looked up towards the sky, still mostly lost in her own world at the moment.

"They're up there still, watching out for me even now. I just wish they were still down here with me, where I could touch them, see them, even just listen to their voices," she said, gazing up at the night sky.

"Who?" asked Sonic. Angel only smiled slightly.

"My parents," she said. She then looked back down at Sonic, the smile now completely gone, replaced by a look of grief that Sonic had not seen since the day Robotnik had attacked Mobotropolis all those years ago, but it was one he himself had experienced on that day.

"I'm sorry..." said Sonic, looking away from Angel's gaze. "I had no idea..."

"Don't be. It was not your fault, no matter how much I wanted to believe it was," she said, returning to reality.

"My fault?" asked Sonic, now suddenly afraid of where the conversation was going. Angel only nodded slightly.

"When I first saw your face, I was certain you were the one I had been waiting to find after all these years, but when I got my first good look at your eyes, I realized I had made a mistake," she said.

"My eyes?" asked Sonic.

"Yes. Your eyes are as green as an emerald. But the one who I saw that night had eyes as red as a raging flame," she said. Her face then twisted into one of anger. "Today, I saw those same eyes once again on the same face I can never forget."

"You mean Mecha..." started Sonic, trying to finish the question, but not able to.

"Yes..." hissed Angel. She sighed and regained her composure somewhat. "I suppose it's pointless to leave out the details now."

"You don't have to tell me this, you know," said Sonic, trying to make sure she was comfortable with what she was about to tell him.

"Don't worry. Like I said, I would tell you when I knew I could do so without loosing myself like last time," she said, though Sonic could still see the beginning of tears in her eyes. He hoped that she was right in her own evaluation of how stable she was right now. "I used to live in a small village of about three hundred echidnas off on the far west coast of the southern continent of Mobius, hidden from modern civilization by a thick jungle that spread out in over a hundred mile radius. My father was one of the best hunters of the village, rallying the others every day to the hunt, eager to bring back a generous bounty each night for dinner. He was also a master swordsman. In fact, it was him that first taught me to wield a sword."

"My mother was one of the village chief's advisors and her advice was always insightful to the future of the entire village. When I turned seven, I was given a chao egg to raise, just like everyone else in the village. Comet came from that egg and we were inseparable. Everything was perfect. But then, only three weeks after I turned eight, everything about my life that I knew started to crumble right before my eyes..."

"How?" asked Sonic, noticing that she was trembling slightly, still trying to hold back the tears that were obviously ready to burst forth from her eyes.

"The village was attacked by that...thing. That robot that you were racing just a little bit ago," she said. "He came out of nowhere, killing everyone he could get his hands on," she said wearily, having lost control of herself once again to the pain the memories brought back. She wanted to stop, to bottle it all back up before they consumed her once again like they had back at the track, but she knew she couldn't anymore. The pain and anguish she had pushed to the very back of her mind so many years ago had been breaking through one barrier after another since the incident on the track to the point she could no longer contain it.

"I was only eight years old. A scared, little girl that knew nothing of violence outside of the hunting that went on around outside of the village. Comet...she tried to comfort me...To tell me...tell me everything was going to be fine..." she said as she could hold back her tears no longer, breaking down completely as she buried her face in her hands and openly cried. Sonic slowly got to his feet, fighting back the pain that shot through his leg as he walked over to her and sat beside her, taking her into his arms. She cried quietly for a couple of minutes before she pushed out of his embrace. She sniffed a few times, trying to ready herself for the last part of the memory.

"But as my mother and I were just about out of the village, he walked right around the corner of the hut we were running past. Without even the slightest bit of emotion, he reached out and grabbed my mother by her robe and lifted her above his head. I could only watch on in horror as her threw her against the side of the hut, raising his other hand back, claws outstretched. I wanted to scream...I tried to scream, but I couldn't. All I could do was watch as he killed her right in front of me," she whispered.

"By the heavens of Mobius..." was all Sonic could say. He had known that Metal Sonic was as cold as ice and was even prone to trying to hurt his friends on occasion, but never once had he seen him actually try to kill someone other than himself before. The very thought sent a chill down his spine.

"He then turned towards me, but before he could even take a step forward, my father came out of nowhere, screaming at the top of his lungs as he charged that thing, sword ready to slice him in two. But he moved like lightning, and easily dodged my father's attack, then slammed his claws into the back of my father's head, killing him instantly." Sonic was about to say something when he noticed that her emotions had almost done a complete one eighty, her depression and sadness now coming close to uncontrollable rage. Her face was twisted into one of anger he hadn't seen since the very first time they had met.

"I didn't care what happened anymore after I saw him kill my father. He turned away from me, either forgetting I was there or deeming me not worth the time to kill I suppose. Comet begged me to run away, to hopefully leave without him noticing us, but I couldn't. I ran at him, scooping up my father's sword, the very sword I carry with me today, into my hands as I ran. That monster turned towards me as he heard my cry of anger, pain, and loss as I charged him. At that moment, I was completely consumed by hatred. All I could think about was killing the thing that had murdered my parents," she said, her teeth gritted together, her hands balled into fists.

"As I brought my father's sword forward, he grabbed it with his left hand, stopping it in its tracks. I tried to pull it away from his grasp, but I hadn't even started to pull with my full strength before he swung his right fist into the side of my head, knocking me out."

"All he did was knock you out? Why not kill you as well?" asked Sonic, now completely confused.

"Even to this day I have no clue as to why he spared my life," she said, lowering her head, shaking off the rage she had built up. "He killed everyone else, burned every last building in the village to the ground. When I woke up, Comet and I were the last things remaining that gave proof that a village had even existed there at all. As I looked around at the smoldering remains of my home, I realized that we were on our own. We began traveling across the continent, coming across other villages that had been completely wiped out by the same robot. The few villages we did find, we didn't stay for long. I was too consumed with finding the one that had destroyed everything I had held dear."

"Nearly a year had passed when we were traveling in a rather dense forest with the nearest settlement being over a two days walk away. We had just started to turn in for the night when a pack of wolves attacked us. I tried to fend them off as best I could, but there were too many of them. I lost count of how many I had managed to hold off when out of nowhere the largest of them managed to reach me, pinning me to the ground as Comet could only watch from her hiding spot up in a tree."

"I was sure I was as good as dead, but before the wolf could take a bite out of me, something knocked it off me. I quickly jumped to my feet and when I noticed that the wolves' attention were now on something else, I scrambled up the same tree Comet was in, looking down at the scene that was unfolding below me. A rather large creature of some kind was staring down the pack of wolves. I never got a good look at the thing due to the darkness, but I was able to make out pretty much what was going on down below."

"As I watched on in amazement as the wolf pack surrounded the creature, but instead of backing down, it stood tall with confidence. As the wolves started to attack, it skillfully dodged each of their lunges while inflicting wounds with its claws and tail, eventually running the pack off without so much as getting a cut. It then looked up at me, motioning to me with its head to follow. I was hesitant at first, but seeing as how it had just saved my life, I reasoned that it was friendly. But still being cautious, I decided to keep a good ten yard distance from the beast as it led me into a nearby cave where I first met..._him_."

"Who is '_him_'?" asked Sonic. Angel shook her head.

"I can't tell you. One of the things he made me swear was that I would never tell anyone anything about him other than he was the one that trained me to fight like I do now. Not that I could tell you much about him anyway. I didn't even know his name," she said.

"I don't get it. What do you mean trained you?" asked Sonic.

"He made me an offer. He would take me in as his student and teach me what I would need to know to be able to kill the thing that had destroyed my village and killed my family. The only thing he asked in return was that someday, he would seek me out, and that when he did he would ask me a favor. Whatever it was, I would have to do it without question," she said. "Being filled with the desire to destroy the one responsible for ruining my life, I gladly accepted. After that, I spent the next four years training under him, greatly improving all aspects of my physical stature. Strength, speed, endurance, agility, my skill with my sword. My instincts and mental prowess were also pushed to new heights during that time to the point where I became a master tracker and hunter. I was even taught how to operate certain vehicles so that if I ever had the need to use one for whatever reason I could do so." She then looked back up at the sky. "To this day, I have yet to run into him again, so I still owe him the favor. I gave him my word that I would uphold my end of the deal and I never go back on a promise I make."

"Okay. That explains a lot about why you resented me so much. Part of me still finds it hard to believe that Mecha would go as far as to kill an entire village of people, but then again, I never really could understand what was going on in that mind of his," said Sonic. Angel turned her gaze down at Sonic.

"You knew him?" she asked, a curious look etched into her face.

"As much as I wish I didn't, yes. He was the second in the mecha bot line of robots Robotnik created to kill me. Both were designed to be my robotic equal. The first one was called Silver Sonic and was the only one of the two designed to mimic my ability to spindash, but it had way too many defects in its AI matrix to think competently for itself. The second was the one that you just saw on the track. Metal Sonic, or Mecha as a lot of us call him by, is the closest thing to me Robotnik has ever built. He's almost on par with my own speed and he is obsessed with killing me. He's been like that ever since the first time we fought," said Sonic. Angel nodded, giving a sigh as she leaned her head back against the trunk of the tree.

"It's a relief to know exactly what that monster really was after all these years. I'm just glad he's finally been destroyed," she said, closing her eyes as she looked down at the ground. "It's finally over. The people of my village as well as my family can now rest in peace." Sonic's face turned solemn, his gaze looking over at her.

"I'm afraid it's not," he said softly, causing Angel to open her eyes and glace over at him. "There is still the matter of the person who sent him to attack your village. The very person who created him is the one truly responsible for what happened." She frowned as she heard this, standing up while picking up her sword and strapping it back onto her back.

"You're right. It isn't over till this Robotnik person is dead. Only then will I truly have avenged my family and the others of my village. Well, I promise you that I won't leave your side till this whole matter has been settled, whatever the outcome is," she said. She then started to walk off into the woods, turning her head back towards Sonic. "You get some rest. I'll keep watch for the night. We'll need you in top form tomorrow if we're going to save Comet and your friends." Sonic nodded before making himself comfortable, drifting off almost instantly to sleep. Angel couldn't help but smile slightly, having felt a great pressure lifted off of her chest after telling Sonic what she had. She faced forward and started off into the forest to find a good spot to do a few exercises to get her mind off of the day's events. She had gone maybe a hundred yards away from the campsite when she heard rustling coming from one of the trees above her.

"Come out," she said, unsheathing her sword as she looked up at the tree tops. "I know you're up there." Her eyes glanced back and forth, trying to pinpoint something out of the ordinary, but unable to due to both the darkness of the night as well as the thickness of the entangled tree limbs above.

"Greetings, young one," said a soft and deep male voice from behind her. She whipped around, sword at the ready to attack if the other person should do so himself. But the person didn't make a move, but rather stood still as a statue on one of the lower hanging branches of one of the trees. Angel couldn't make out anything of detail about the person who stood on the limb since he wore a grey robe with a hood over his head, though she could see his yellow eyes looking back at her through the hood.

"Who are you?" asked Angel, still keeping her sword at the ready. There was something about this person that seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The person said nothing, and after a couple of seconds dropped down out of the trees. The air caught his robe and lifted it up slightly, giving Angel a quick glance at the lower half of the person beneath it. Grey fur covered his legs and he wore a pair of shoes of a kind that she had never seen before. The person landed softly on the ground, then stood back up to his full height.

"Me? Just a traveler of sorts," he said. "You, on the other hand, don't look a thing like the innocent little Angel I met all those years ago." Angel's eyes narrowed slightly as she tensed herself to attack.

"How the heck do you know who I am?" she asked with more of a demanding tone rather than a questioning one.

"I don't. At least, not right now," he answered. "The Angel I remember was kind and gentle. She would never resort to fighting without being forced to." He pointed at her with a black gloved hand. "You, on the other hand, are aggressive and forceful. You'd rather fight than talk." He lowered his finger, his head following suit. "You have lost the peace your heart once had. You have lost sight of your true self." Angel lowered her sword.

"Just who the heck are you?" she asked, walking right up to the person and jabbing her finger into his chest, catching a glimpse of the person's grey furred face through the hood, though aside from the fur color she couldn't make out any other details of the mobian's face. "And how dare you talk to me like that? I know myself better than anyone!" The figure merely smiled, taking Angel's finger into his hand and removing it from his chest.

"You think you do. I wish I could tell you how I know you are wrong, but I cannot. It is something you must discover for yourself," he said, letting go of her finger. "Unfortunately, I have other things that need attending to. But before I go, I have three things I want to give you. The first is a piece of advice that I've had to learn the hard way. What you perceive as truth and what really is the truth are two separate things. Don't let yourself be blinded by the lies that cover up the truth, even if the truth is one that will harm you, because not believing the truth once you discover it can lead to far worse fates than the truth itself." The figure then turned and looked up into the same tree he had been perched in.

"The second and third I'll give to you at once," he said. He then cupped his hands over his mouth. "You may come down now!" he hollered up at the tree. A bright, blue glow suddenly came out from one of the thick patches of leaves above, descending towards the two of them. "I believe this little one is yours," he said, gesturing up at the glow of the aqua Timestone which was held in the arms of none other than a purple chao with red tipped, golden wings.

"Comet..." whispered Angel to herself as she opened her arms wide, Comet flying into her embrace. "Oh Comet! You're safe," she cried, tightly hugging her chao to her.

"Yes mistress. This nice mobian rescued me from the awful place they were keeping me," said Comet, trying to return the hug as well as keep a grip on the Timestone. Angel slackened her grip on Comet, but still held her against her chest. She looked over at the cloaked figure, who merely stood by as the two friends were reunited.

"Thank you...Thank you so much," she said, close to tears for the third time in one night. "I don't know what I would have done if anything had happened to her." The figure turned away from the two of them.

"You are welcome, my young friend. I must now take my leave," he said as he began to walk away. "I just hope that you take my advice to heart, and should you, I hope I will see you again at some point in time. Till then, goodbye," he said, and then vanished into the darkness of the woods. Angel stared at where the figure had vanished, wondering if what he had said was true. She decided she would think about it later. The important thing was that Comet was safe, and that would do for the night. Her mouth cracked into a small smile as she started back towards the campsite, Comet also breaking into a smile when she saw Angel's.

_I don't know what has happened to you since earlier today, mistress, but you seem so much happier now than any other time since that night,_ thought Comet to herself. She then flew up and landed on Angel's shoulder, who's only response was to glance over at her, still smiling.

*******************************************

The cloaked figure watched from his vantage point in one of the nearby trees as the two friends turned and headed back the way they had come from, a small smile forming on his tan muzzle. He was glad that he had been able to bring the two of them back together.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to not let me go with them tomorrow?" asked a childish voice off to the figure's side. The cloaked mobian shook his head softly.

"No, my young friend. They are our best hope to finally put an end to all of this madness," he said softly before turning his yellow eyes' gaze over towards the other person with him. "But if they fail, you and I must finish what they start."

*******************************************

Angel gazed at the rising sun off in the distance as the last remains of the nighttime sky vanished in the sunlight. Comet sat on her shoulder, having not said a word the whole night, leaving her mistress to her thoughts as she sat with her back against the trunk of a tree on a fairly high up limb near where Sonic was still sleeping.

"Well," said Angel, glancing over at her chao friend. "I guess its time to wake the hedgehog." She then looked down to where Sonic was lying curled up in a ball, softly snoring. "You want to do the honors Comet?"

"Sure," said Comet, flying off Angel's shoulder and landing next to Sonic's head. She then tapped him softly on his right ear, which twitched slightly from the touch. Sonic grumbled something unintelligible before rolling over onto his back. Comet looked back up at Angel, who just gave a slight nod. Comet flew up onto Sonic's chest, then tapped him on the nose a little harder than his ear. Sonic sniffed once, then twice before sneezing, Comet quickly taking to the air to avoid it. Sonic sat up, looking back and forth before Comet flew down right in front of his face.

"Sleep well, master Sonic?" she asked with a smile. This brought forth a surprised cry from Sonic, who jumped backwards, only to slam his back into the tree trunk. Angel couldn't help but chuckle slightly at this, catching Sonic's attention. He looked up at her, his face still somewhat having a look of shock on it. He then frowned and looked back at Comet, who was trying to hold back a laugh of her own.

"Where the heck did you come from?" he asked. Comet didn't answer, but instead looked over at Angel as she dropped down out of the tree.

"She escaped from Metal Sonic's trap and was hiding out here in this forest. I ran into her last night. She was also the reason one of the Timestones was moving towards us," said Angel, holding up the aqua gemstone. She had opted not to tell Sonic the truth because she didn't want him asking her tons of questions she couldn't answer right now.

"That's good. At least that's one of our friends and another Timestone accounted for," said Sonic as he stood up, rubbing the back of his head where he had hit it against the tree. It took him a few seconds of standing before he realized that he was on his feet with no pain whatsoever.

"Wow! I guess that remedy really _does_ work," said Sonic as he bent down and removed the leaves from his arm and leg. Nothing remained of the claws marks other than a slightly brighter colored patch of new skin over where the marks had been. He then took off into the forest, racing through the trees near the campsite for a good twenty seconds or so before coming to a stop back in his starting place.

"Told you it would work," said Angel as she got to her own feet. "So what now?"

"Nothing left to do but find our friends and confront Robotnik. There's only three more Timestones left to get. Since they're together, that means we'll find Robotnik there with them because if I know him like I think I do, he'll be the one protecting them," he said as he pulled Nicole out of his pack. He flipped the screen open, punched in his code, said his password, and asked the machine where the last Timestones were located. Nicole beeped a few times before her holo display brought up a map of the surrounding area

"_Timestones located. Approximately ten miles west northwest and are currently stationary,"_ said Nicole, a little dot blinking on the holo map. Sonic looked over the map for a few seconds, then closed Nicole's screen.

"No way we'll get close to wherever the Timestones or our friends are without them noticing us," said Sonic.

"I agree. So where does that leave us?" asked Angel.

"Nothing except for one option, even though I had hoped to avoid it," he said.

*****************************************

What time was it? Was it day or night? She didn't have a clue anymore. Not that she really cared all that much right now. As far as she knew, a whole century could've past by and she wouldn't know. All she knew was that she was in a cell all alone, separated from everyone else. She would watch the occasional velocibot walk past, its glowing eyes shifting to look at her as it passed by the cell, giving a couple of small sniffs of the air to get her scent before moving on to wherever it had been assigned to go.

Lily sighed to herself, lying on her back on the cell's cot, staring up at the ceiling. The first thing Metal Sonic had done when he'd brought them back to wherever it was they were was split them apart from each other. She hadn't even seen where he had taken the others, as she had still been out cold when he had brought her in this very cell. Now, all she wanted was to be with just one of them, if only to have someone to talk to, or even just listen to them talking to her.

A series of rhythmic metal clacking noises started to make themselves known from somewhere down the hall. Lily couldn't help but glace towards the cell door, expecting to see more velocibot guards walk past. As the first one came into view, she started to look back towards the ceiling, but her gaze stopped short and quickly looked back out into the hallway as the second figure came into view. Her eyes grew wide with recognition as she gazed at the person staring back at her.

"You..." she whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Now you're _sure_ you can fly one of those things?" asked Sonic for the fifth time as he, Angel, and Comet stood at the northwest edge of the forest which exited into an arid wasteland. From their current position, they could see the large, two hundred story tall command tower amid the many smaller buildings of the nearly nine square mile large main base of Little Planet. Situated all around the giant base in a half mile radius were dozens of laser cannon emplacements similar to the ones that had shot down their hover-unit just the other day. Each one swept its turret back and forth, their onboard bio-signature scanners constantly looking for any sign of life bigger than an Earth rabbit to target. In fact, the only reason the lasers hadn't opened up on them was because they were in the forest where all of the vegetation masked their own bio-signatures with that of the thick woods. Several Swatbots on hover-bikes also patrolled the area, each one keeping to their own little area of the perimeter.

"For the fifth time, yes I can. I told you I was trained to be able to operate several vehicles, these kinds of bikes included," said Angel, a little annoyed at having to be asked more than once about something as simple as her ability to ride a hover-bike. Still, she could tell he just wanted to make sure their plan would work and he wouldn't have to come save her. Not that it was really a "plan" as much as it was merely improvising. Simply let Sonic get the attention of the laser emplacements and other security details, then lead one of the Swatbots back to her so she could take the bike from him and use it to get into the base and find their friends. After that, Sonic would meet up with them and they would make their way to the command tower, assuming that their friends weren't already being held in there.

"Sorry," said Sonic as he gazed towards the base off in the distance. Angel glanced over at the blue hedgehog. Even though she hadn't known him real long, she could tell something was troubling him. His usual cocky confidence just wasn't there.

"You okay?" she asked him. Sonic sighed slightly before looking back over at her.

"I don't know. It's just…something Mecha said to me back on that speedway has been bugging me ever since last night," he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, somehow he knew that I could become hyper, but the thing is I haven't been able to do it at all since I arrived in this world," he answered. "So how did he know about it?"

"Pardon me, master Sonic, but by any chance are you referring to the transformation acquired when using the seven Super Emeralds?" asked Comet, looking down from the tree she was sitting in.

"Yes I am. So you know about the Super Emeralds too?" asked Sonic as he looked up at the small chao. Comet nodded before flying down and coming to a hover alongside Angel.

"I do. We chao know quite a bit about the emeralds," said Comet. She then cocked her head slightly for a second before her face twisted into a smile. "Ah, so that's why I've been sensing a rather high amount of chaos energy emitting from around you. You have the miniature versions of the Super Emeralds on your person, don't you?" Sonic reached down and pulled off the belt that held the small gemstones, the leather strap becoming visible again. All of the emeralds were a dull grey in color except for the indigo emerald, which still retained its brilliant glow.

"Yep," he answered as he showed Comet the belt. "The thing is though that all but that one emerald apparently died when my friends and I were thrown into this world. But I don't know why one of them is still glowing while the others aren't." Angel gazed at the seven gemstones set in the belt, stopping when she came across the indigo emerald to stare into it.

"I don't get it. What are a bunch of little stones supposed to do?" she asked. Comet smiled as she flew up next to the belt, placing her hands on the blue gemstone.

"I will show you mistress," said Comet as she closed her eyes. At first, nothing happened, but slowly the glow of the blue emerald began to increase. Suddenly, a brilliant blast of light burst forth from the gemstone, forcing both Sonic and Angel to look away as they shielded their eyes. As the light died down, Sonic's mouth opened in awe at what he saw. Every one of the seven emeralds set in the belt was softly glowing, although Sonic did notice that their glow wasn't anywhere near as bright as it usually was. Sonic turned his gaze towards Comet.

"What did you do?" he asked. Comet started to open her mouth to answer, but before she could, she fell towards the ground, Angel quickly catching her before she hit. It was then that the two mobians noticed that her breathing was somewhat labored.

"Are you okay?" asked Angel worriedly as she held her chao in her arms. Comet nodded softly before turning around to face Sonic, taking a little bit to catch her breath.

"We chao have the ability to manipulate chaos energy to some extent. The older we are, the easier it is to do so, as well as increases the amount of energy we can manipulate at a given time," said Comet, pointing towards the emerald belt. "I took what energy was inside of the single emerald and distributed it amongst the other six, thereby partially re-energizing them." At this, she brought a hand up to her forehead as she looked down at the ground, her eyes closing tightly for a second. "But to be honest…I don't think I was quite ready to try something like that. It made me extremely light headed."

"Well, either way, I can't thank you enough for doing this," said Sonic as he wrapped the belt back around his waist, the belt vanishing as he secured the buckle on it. "I did notice, however, that the glow from the emeralds wasn't as bright as before. Does that mean they could lose their power again?" Comet nodded slightly.

"Unfortunately, I could only disperse the single emerald's power among the others, not add to it. That means that the time you can stay transformed will be very limited," she answered.

"I see…" said Sonic. "About how long do I have before they die again?"

"Ten minutes…Maybe a little longer if we're lucky. After that, their power will be completely drained and you will return to normal," she said. Sonic nodded before he turned back towards the base.

"Ten minutes is definitely better than none at all. I'll make sure I don't waste what you've done," he said.

"Okay," said Angel, a little annoyance evident in her voice. "Just what the heck are you two talking about? What 'transformation'?" Sonic merely turned his head back towards her and gave her a smile.

"Trust me, if this is gonna get as ugly as I think it will, you'll see exactly what we're talking about," he said before facing forward again. Angel relaxed a bit, taking note that Sonic's previous lack of confidence was replaced with his old cocky attitude. As far as she was concerned, if whatever Comet did was enough to change his mood back to what it was, then it was good enough for her.

"Well, I suppose now's as good a time as any to get started," said Sonic, taking a few steps out of the dense foliage and onto the dried out ground outside of the forest. The closest laser emplacement trained its laser back and forth a few times over the area Sonic was standing in but never stopped to even do a more thorough scan. Sonic, thinking he wasn't far enough away from the forest to be detected, was about to walk a little further out when the laser trained over him once again, this time an alarm screaming to life as the laser cannon opened fire at him. Sonic narrowly missed getting hit by the shot as he jumped to the left, then shot forward as the cannon tracked and fired at him as fast as it could. Angel watched from the safety of the forest as Sonic ran past the first laser emplacement, grabbing the attention of the next three closest ones as they too opened fire on him. She caught herself having her mouth gaped open and quickly closed it as she watched Sonic skillfully dodge each laser shot like it was child's play, smiling the whole time. She looked over at Comet, who was also staring opened mouthed at Sonic as he grabbed a fifth one's attention, alarms now blaring all over the outer perimeter of the base.

"You get the feeling that not only has he done this before, but he enjoys it?" asked Angel. Comet merely nodded her head in response, closing her own mouth as she finally caught herself as well. Angel returned her attention to Sonic as he sped back around to the first laser emplacement, leaping on top of it as it tried to train its cannon up to fire at him. He then turned his attention back to the other four laser cannons as each one fired another shot at him. Sonic quickly dropped off the laser emplacement he was standing on, dashing back into the defense grid as the four laser shots impaled its armor plating. It began to spark for a few moments before exploding in a shower of metallic shrapnel.

No less than five second after the cannon exploded, alarms began to sound from the inner area of the base as the Swatbots flew their hover-bikes to the inner edge of the defense grid, scanning the area near the destroyed emplacement before finally spotting Sonic as he charged a second laser emplacement, curling into a spindash and crashing himself through it, the emplacement toppling and exploding on contact with the ground. The Swatbots immediately took off after Sonic as he blazed about the defense grid, narrowly dodging the literally dozens of laser bolts there were flying at him from all directions. As he began to lead the pack of robots now chasing him back towards the jungle, Angel crouched down and watched the hover-bikes carefully, trying to figure out the right timing to make her move.

As Sonic shot by her hiding spot, Angel leapt from her spot just as the last two hover-bikes were passing by, landing a hard flying kick to the Swatbot pilot, knocking it from the craft and sending it flying into the other bike that had been alongside it, knocking them both to the ground as they exploded in a ball of fiery metal as the hover-bike she had knocked the Swatbot off of fell on its side and skid to a stop. Not wasting any time, Angel quickly righted the hover-bike, hopped on, and gunned the throttle. The bike shot forward as it accelerated to over a hundred and fifty miles per hour as she blasted towards the base, maneuvering the hover-bike through all kinds of twists and turns that only the most experienced pilots could accomplish as the closest laser emplacements opened fire upon her.

She looked about for a second, finally spotting Sonic as he toppled another laser tower on the other side of the defense grid. Suddenly, the bike lurched hard to the left as a laser bolt caught it in the backside. Angel barely managed to get it back under her control before looking behind her to see that she was being chased by two other bikes that had caught up with her. A loud thud, as well as a cloud of dust getting thrown into her hair from the backside, reminded her that they weren't the only things shooting at her as she returned her attention forward just in time to give the bike a hard turn to the right, just missing a laser bolt fired from one of the towers as several more shots came from behind from her pursuers.

Angel cracked a smile as her eyes narrowed. The idea she'd just had was one that any sane person wouldn't even conceive, let alone try. But then again, she didn't care what a sane person would do in her situation, she just knew what she'd do. Gunning the accelerator, she pushed the bike to its maximum speed of two hundred and fifty miles per hour before diverting all of the hover lift's power to the very front lift of the four lifts, pulling back hard on the control bars as the bike literally leapt straight up into the air nearly thirty feet as she turned off the power to the hover lifts. Angel then threw her full weight and strength hard to the left, the bike doing a vertical midair one-eighty, leaving the bike facing the ground and facing the two Swatbots chasing her as laser bolts flew past her as they tried to get an accurate shot off on the wildly maneuvering bike and its passenger.

_I'll bet you tin heads won't see this one coming, _thought Angel to herself as she floored the throttle, the bike shooting straight at the ground. At the last moment, she reactivated the hover lifts, throwing about half of the power into the front one to stabilize the bike as the bottom of the front end scraped the ground for a split second before the bike leveled out. Once again in full control of the bike, she opened it up, speeding towards the Swatbots as they now realized they had gone from being the chasers to the chased all too late as Angel opened up with the bike's laser cannon, spraying the path in front of the other two bikes with ruby red bolts of energy. The two bikes veered to avoid the shots unsuccessfully as they were both skewered by the bolts, exploding in two balls of fire.

Throwing the bike into a hard right turn, Angel realigned herself with the base and then opened the throttle, dodging the light laser fire from the towers as they tried to track her with little success as she flew head on into the middle of the base. As she shot towards the largest of the buildings situated in the middle of the base, automated laser defense cannons opened up on her from the rooftops of the other buildings, forcing her to juke back and forth in the narrow confines of the street which was only big enough to fit maybe the width of three hover-units side by side. She gunned the engine to the max, reaching top speed as she came within five blocks of the square mile large building.

_I really am nuts to do this_, she thought to herself as she quickly leaped on top of the bike, then jumped off of it, curling herself into a ball as she rolled head over heels for nearly half a block before coming to a stop about fifty meters from the building, a little dazed with a few fresh cuts and a bruise or two, but otherwise unhurt. The hover-bike, however, didn't fare as well as it plowed into the side of the building, blowing a gaping hole in the wall as the explosion knocked the two velocibots that had been patrolling that area of the building to the floor. Quickly getting to her feet, Angel drew her sword and ran into the building, her sword flashing as it sliced both of the velocibots in half before they could get back to their feet to attack her.

_She's crazy, but a very good pilot. I'd bet she'd give Tails a run for his money,_ thought Sonic as he watched the scene unfold from his vantage point about a quarter mile away. A sudden flash of heat to the side of his face returned his attention to what he was doing himself as he shot towards the nearest tower, curling into a spindash as he crashed straight through it, the tower spewing smoke from the two holes left in the hedgehog's wake as it teetered back and forth for a couple of seconds before falling to the ground, narrowly missing the four hover-bikes chasing him as he lead them away from the base as best he could without looking too obvious about it.

*******************************************

Even as the alarms began to blare throughout the base, dead silence was all that could be heard in the command center's main control room that overlooked the rest of the base. Compared to the rest of the building, it was relatively small. A single turbolift was situated in the center of a circular room close to two hundred yards in circumference that sat upon a nearly seventy story tall thick spire that connected the turbolift to the main part of the building below them. Two figures watched the scene unfolding at the outer perimeter between Sonic and the defenses through the soundproof windows that stood over twenty feet tall and encircled the entire room allowing for unblocked vision in a full three hundred and sixty degree arc. As the first of the towers fell to Sonic, the shorter of the two crossed its arms over its chest.

"You do realize that the defenses you set up won't hold up to him?" the short one asked in a deep mechanical voice, its green eyes glancing over at the taller person. The tall one merely gave a slow nod, its face sporting a frown of concentration as it watched the scene outside. The short one's eyes returned to watching the perimeter. "So you planned to make it easy for him from the start. You don't think he'll notice?" the short one asked again.

"Hardly," answered the tall one. "To him, this is a typical defense setup that he's seen several times before and knows how to deal with. But even so, he's so used to seeing such similar setups that the thought that it was done on purpose will never cross his mind."

"I see," said the short one, watching as a hover-bike, now being ridden by Angel, performed a dangerous midair stunt and narrowly missed a collision with the ground before it straightened out and destroyed the two bikes that had been chasing it. The bike then made an about-face and headed straight towards the command center. As the bike disappeared from view below the windows, a very light vibration could be felt by the two observers through the floor as smoke began to issue up from the ground below. "Should I go deal with the echidna?"

"Leave her be. Sonic is the only one I am even remotely concerned with at this point," said the tall one. The short one glanced up at its master with a look that betrayed its distrust in the decision that the tall one caught. "There is a reason why the girl does not constitute any threat."

"Well, pardon my lack of trust on your assumption about the threat she poses," said the short one.

"Even if you're assumptions were correct, it is still nothing for you to concern yourself with," said the tall one as it turned and walked towards the room's exit. "I will deal with the girl. You know your orders and I expect you to carry them out," it said as it walked out of view of the short one. The short one clenched its fists together in anger at having to be told to do its job. It then turned and watched Sonic as he led what remained of the hover-bikes on their ill-fated chase.

********************************************

Angel side-stepped the snapping jaws of a velocibot, lunging forward and drilling her sword deep into the mechanical raptor's chest as it let loose a pain filled shriek. Quickly drawing her sword from the beast, Angel dropped to the floor and whipped her whole body in a three sixty as she swept her foot under the creature's feet, causing it to tumble to the floor as she jumped back to her own feet and continued her run across the rather large room. In fact, the room was so large that it pretty much left no room on the current floor for anything other than the turbolifts on the side and in the center of the room. The roof to the floor was also high enough that it easily made the room comprise about two thirds of the size of the command center, providing at least a hundred and thirty stories worth of room in square mile worth of space.

She was now on the third floor of the command center, having dispatched the few velocibots that had shown up to block her progress. The fact that only five of the robot raptors had tried to stop her so far gnawed at the back of her mind. If this truly was the where the last three Timestones were being kept, it made no sense that the defenses inside the command center of all places would be this lax. Also, the fact that this floor took up so much space for no apparent reason was also making her a little on edge.

Before she could ponder the lack of security any further, the doors to the lift she was running towards slid open as two more velocibots emerged from within. Coming to a stop, Angel took a defensive stance as she waited for the two robots to come running at her like the previous ones had done. But only when the two of them didn't move from their spots and she got a good look at them did she realize that something about them was different. The first thing she noticed was that the one of the left was colored solid black, while the one of the right was solid red. Also, these two particular velocibots had two odd appendages attached to their upper backs that the others did not possess. She couldn't make out what they were though, as they hugged the bodies of the velocibots snuggly. However, her question was answered when both velocibots gave a shrill cry as the appendages spread out and away from their bodies, revealing each one to be sporting a pair of metallic, reptilian wings.

"You have got to be kidding me..." whispered Angel to herself, her shock at what she was looking at evident on her face. Both velocibots gave a hard flap of their wings, both taking off with a small gust of wind. At first the two of them flew together in sync till they had ascended to about the halfway mark of the ceiling before they broke off from each other, circling in a wide arc around Angel's position. Sweat began to form on her forehead as she realized that with the way the two of them were flying, there was no way for her to keep her eyes on both of them at the same time. She cursed to herself as she realized the two of them had more than likely been waiting in the lift the whole time for her to be out in the middle of the room like she was now. If they had made themselves known when she had first stepped off the lift from the floor below, then she would've had the safety of a wall to put her back up to so that they would be unable to divide her attention as much as they were doing.

_Well, no use worrying about it now,_ she thought as she watched the black velocibot circle the air in front of her, hearing the red one cry out from somewhere behind her. She tensed as she realized the cry was far too loud if it was in a similar position to where the black one was at. With reflexes that that would make a cat green with envy, Angel swung herself around and brought her sword up to block just as the hind legs of the red velocibot thrust out to shred her in the back. The force of the collision was enough to make a clang noise echo loudly throughout the whole room as the red velocibot screamed its annoyance at having been found out before it could impale its target with its razor sharp claws. Angel strained against the velocibot as it tried to force her to topple over backwards from the amount of force it was excreting against her. But the echidna girl held fast against it, and with a final effort managed to deflect its hind feet away from her, causing it to lose its buoyancy and tumble to the ground.

With nothing but instinct guiding her next move, she rolled backwards, the snapping jaws of the black velocibot colliding with the floor just inches in front of her body as she rolled underneath it, the robot snarling in discomfort from its meeting with the floor. She wanted to try and bring her sword to bear against the mechanical raptor's underbelly, but realized the roll had thrown off her ability to handle it till she could get a second to re-adjust her grip on it. So instead she continued to roll till she emerged from underneath the raptor's back end and flipped back to her feet, narrowly missing a crushing blow from the velocibot's tail when it slammed it down on the floor as she passed by underneath it.

Angel barely had enough time to recover from flipping onto her feet again before the red velocibot had regained its footing and leapfrogged over the black one, fore claws and teeth bared as it flew straight at her. Realizing that trying to block it again with her sword would be pointless since it couldn't possibly cover all three attack points at once, Angel dove to the ground and flipped onto her back in time to see the red velocibot pass by overhead. Pulling her legs up against her chest, she launched them straight out, catching the raptor in the stomach area with a hard double kick, flipping it over in midair to come crashing down on its back with an angry screech of a cry. She then quickly turned back onto her stomach before swinging her entire body around, sweeping the clawed feet of the black velocibot out from underneath it before it could completely turn back around to attack her before using the momentum to flip back onto her feet, readying herself to deliver a fatal blow to the robot.

However, as she drew her sword back to impale the black metal raptor, a loud clap caught her attention, drawing her eyes away from the fallen robot before she could stop herself from doing so, causing her swing to go wide. Instead of impaling the velocibot, her sword instead crashed through the connecting braces for the robot's wings, shredding them both off the mechanical beast. The black raptor quickly righted itself as it brushed her sword aside, but instead of attacking after it regained its footing, it instead leaped back away from her, retreating back towards the turbolift. At the sound of the flap of wings, Angel quickly returned her attention to the other velocibot, looking back at the red armored raptor as it eyed her for a couple of seconds before retreating back to the air, leaving Angel to watch as the two mechanical raptors returned to the turbolift where another raptor was standing.

This one was at least twice the size of the two velocibots with an orange and black underbelly and glimmering silver armor covering its entire tail and back, all the way up the top of its head to the tip of its nose. Around its neck was a collar with a glowing green gemstone set in the middle. Its face sent a chill down Angel's spine as glowing red eyes stared back at the female echidna. Both velocibots formed rank next to the much bigger raptor, the red one folding its wings against its body as they stood silently.

"Very impressive. I dare say you've improved even more than I had realized, though I see you still let small things distract you. I'd have figured you would have broken that habit by now," said the taller raptor in a deep male voice as it walked towards Angel, who's only response was to stare at it with a wide eyed look as she tensed.

"No..." she whispered as she eyed the raptor walking towards her. "It can't be you...It just can't..." she said a little louder. The raptor merely smiled slightly as its sensitive hearing caught what she had whispered.

"But it _is_ me," said Leviathan as he walked up next to the echidna, looking down into her eyes. "After all, how could you possibly forget the person that raised you into such a strong warrior?" Angel stared back into the blood red eyes of the raptor, wanting to ask him any of the literally hundreds of questions that had risen to the surface after seeing him here, apparently in charge of these murderous robotic creatures.

"But how-" she started to ask.

"Am I the one that rules over this empire?" he finished. His small grin widened slightly. "My dear, I've been in command of this empire long before we even met. You just never knew." At that comment, Angel's disbelieving look instantly changed into one of pure anger and hatred as the truth hit her like a sucker punch.

"It was you!" she yelled as she lunged at the raptor, swinging her sword straight at the mecha bot, who merely back-stepped the attack, the sword swiping through thin air as it narrowly missed the raptor's head. "You're the one who sent that…that _thing_ to attack my home!" she cried at the top of her lungs as she tried to bring her sword to bear again. But this time as she swung it at the raptor, he merely caught the blade in his clawed hand, letting a little bit of synthetic blood drip out of his enclosed fist onto the floor as well as down the blade.

"You are wrong about that," Leviathan said softly. "I never sent Metal Sonic to attack your village. He did it of his own accord."

"Liar!" she screamed at him, struggling to free her trapped weapon from his grasp. While she could fight without it, her anger had consumed her to the point that rational thinking had become a lost cause and all she could think of was freeing her sword to strike down the creature that stood before her.

"I have never once lied to you before, have I?" asked Leviathan. At this, Angel stopped struggling to free her sword. Instead, she looked back up at him as if to explain himself. "Every question you ever asked me about that night, I never once told you anything other than the truth." He released his grip on Angel's sword, knowing her attention was now on something other than attacking him. "When I first met you and you asked me what I knew about the night your village was attacked, what did I tell you?" he asked, looking into her emerald green eyes as she looked back into his.

"You told me that it was someone that had come seeking to kill us all," she said.

"Correct. Did I lie to you? Was it not 'someone' that had attacked your home, seeking to kill everyone in his path?" he asked her.

"Yes...It was," she said, her voice having lost a good deal of its edge as the realization of what was going on began to sink in.

"That is exactly my point. Every question you ever asked me, I answered for you truthfully, even if I did leave out certain details. Still, it is not my fault that you took it for face value as you did. You were content with my answers and merely drew your own conclusions from them. And as I promised, you have grown into a well tempered fighter that I have no doubt could defeat Metal Sonic one-on-one in an honorable, fair fight. Your ability to last as long as you did against my two friends here, damaging one of them quite extensively I might add, more than proved that point," he said as he walked around her slowly, keeping his eyes locked with hers as she turned her own eyes and head to follow his.

"But why did he let me go? Why did he not kill me with all the others?" she asked.

"As I told you before, I quite honestly have no logical explanation as to why he let you go. Perhaps to him you looked to be dead. Or maybe he knew I was not far off and wished to finish what he had started before I arrived to get him back under my control," he said before coming to a stop in front of her again.

"So you were in control of him after all," she said, her anger returning a little, but she held herself in check this time instead of allowing anger to control her like before. Leviathan gave a sigh before turning his back to her and taking a few steps away from her.

"When I first built him in this world, I followed the exact same schematics that were used to create him in the world I hail from. This, however, proved to be a great miscalculation on my part. The master programming that I had embedded in his circuitry was the same as the original's. As such, he eventually became consumed by his desire to kill Sonic," he said, returning his gaze to the floor. "But since this world's Sonic had been killed prior to his activation, this world's Metal Sonic awoke into a world where it had no purpose. Still, he obeyed me for a time, doing what I asked of him. I realized that he was growing more and more out of touch with reality as time went by, however." At this, he turned sideways and looked back up again.

"When he began to question my orders, I knew that it would be only a matter of time before I lost all control over him. I had debated on destroying him, but by that point in time he had quite literally become one of my main tools of instilling fear in the population. But even though I realized he would rebel, he did so much earlier than I had personally thought he would have. He went on a rampage throughout the southern continent, killing anyone he came across, destroying any source of civilization he found. I allowed him to do so for a short time, wondering if he would stop on his own or not. But after a week's time I realized he wouldn't stop unless I forced him to."

"You _let_ him destroy countless lives while you just waited to see what he would do?" Angel asked, both her face and voice having taken on a horrified look and tone.

"Yes. However, I did not like it. By that time, I had wiped out everything and everyone I had wanted to," he said, turning his head back to look at her with a sinister grin. "After all, ruling over a planet would be quite boring if no one was around to fear you."

"You're a sick person," Angel spat. Leviathan gave no sign the insult had even been heard though.

"Trust me, my dear girl, I could have just as well let him continue on his little one-man army path and be destroyed eventually by his own madness, but he was far too important to me to allow that to happen," said Leviathan as he turned around to fully face her again. "By the time I managed to finally track him down he had nearly finished his destruction of your village. I confronted him and although it took force to finally get him back under my control, I succeeded. After that, I had the rest of the surviving villagers, which by then had been reduced to just a couple dozen, eliminated."

"Why!?" screamed Angel, tears streaming down her face as she glared at Leviathan with anger burning behind her eyes stronger than anything she'd ever felt before. "Why did you kill them all? Why didn't you kill me with them as well? I would've rather died that night than live as the only survivor of such a horrific slaughter!" she continued to scream at him.

"To protect my identity. I didn't care that they had seen Metal Sonic since he was well known as a killer and destroyer by that point in time. However, my identity had to be kept completely in the dark from the entire planet," he hissed, his face turning into a frown as he looked away from her for a second. "Only one person has ever managed to escape with the knowledge of who I really am. The Freedom Fighter villages on Mobius all saw me as a hero that stepped up to take command of the primary operations against what they thought was Robotnik's empire. Too bad they placed their faith in a forgery that was under my direct control the entire time."

"You still haven't told me why you didn't kill me that night like everyone else. I have a right to know," she said with a little force behind her voice, having regained her composure somewhat.

"Because when I arrived, I was just in time to witness your rather suicidal attack against Metal Sonic, even if it was from a distance. Seeing such a young mobian display such raw aggression and anger like you did, as well as handle a sword with exceptional skill for being so young, I knew I could mold you into a powerful ally," he said.

"Ally? Why would I _ever_ become your ally!?" she yelled at him.

"Simple," Leviathan said with a smile as he lowered his head to gaze into her eyes as he lightly gripped her chin in his clawed hand. "Because I request that you become my ally and perform any task I ask of you, such was the promise you pledged to me the day we met."

"I won't do it," she hissed at him, her voice very soft but having a lot of anger behind it. Leviathan's grin widened slightly.

"So you're telling me that you would go back on a promise you made? A promise where, might I remind you, I have upheld every condition I was required to uphold?" Angel wanted to say yes and forever denounce the beast in front of her, but she found herself unable to. Her mouth tried to form the words, but her lips had failed her at the moment. Leviathan's smirk grew slightly as he saw her struggle to tell him off. After nearly half a minute of fighting to spit out the words, she gave up. All the fight she had previously displayed was now lost to the wind as she gave into Leviathan. She knew why she couldn't refuse him, as did he.

"I thought so," was all Leviathan said as he let go of her chin and rose back up to his full height. "Your 'honor' prevents you from breaking your promise to me since I upheld my end of the deal." He turned his back to her and began walking away, motioning for her to follow him. Slowly, the broken echidna girl sheathed her sword and walked after him, her face contorted into one of pain and sorrow as she realized her fate now rested with the robotic raptor. Leviathan glanced over his shoulder, chortling to himself when he saw the look on her face. "You may be strong physically my dear echidna, but the 'honor bond' that you share with your family and people makes you weak mentally." Angel's only response was to glare at him defiantly as the pair walked into the turbolift, the doors slamming with a whoosh.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"And that makes the last of them," said Sonic to himself as the final tower of the defensive perimeter fell victim to a spindash, landing on top of the final hover-bike that had been chasing him. He rushed back into the forest, spotting Comet hiding in the trees near the boarder of the forest and open plains. "Hey! You gonna be okay staying up there till we come back?" he hollered up at the small chao. He noticed Comet had a rather worried look on her face when she looked down at him.

"Yes, I'll be fine. But I fear something has happened to my mistress," she said as she quickly flew down to hover next to him, her worried voice confirming to Sonic the look she had on her face.

"How come?" he asked. Comet shook her head.

"I'm not sure, but it feels as though she's being tormented in some way," she answered. The only response she got from Sonic was a blast of wind that nearly threw her to the ground as Sonic sped towards the base at over six hundred miles per hour, not even bothering to slow down as he ran into the much narrower sections of the base's layout. He quickly found the hole in the command center that had been blown open by Angel's kamikaze run with the hover-bike. Leaping into the room, speeding down the hallways as he followed the trail of destruction Angel had left in her wake to the first turbolift. Not even bothering to wait on the lift, he spindashed through the metal doors, bouncing off the inner walls of the lift shaft like a pinball till he crashed through the second floor doors. He repeated the same pattern to reach the third floor. As he barreled through the third floor doors of the lift shaft connecting the second and third floors, however, he came to a grinding halt. On the opposite side of the giant room stood Angel, who stared at Sonic with a grim look on her face. Even though the two of them were just colored specks to each other, they both recognized the other instantly.

"Oh thank the heavens you're okay!" shouted Sonic as he quickly ran over towards her, coming to a stop a few yards away when he noticed the look on her face. "What's wrong?" he asked. Angel said nothing as she withdrew her sword from its sheath, slowly taking an offensive stance as she gripped her sword tightly. "What is it?" he asked, his face reflecting confusion.

"Forgive me," she whispered as she closed her eyes tight. Sonic was about to ask her what she was doing when Angel lunged forward, her sword sweeping straight at Sonic's head. He quickly dropped to the ground, then rolled to the left as Angel brought the weapon crashing down on the spot he had just been occupying on the floor. Sonic flipped back onto his feet just in time to manage a quick back flip as he jumped backwards over the echidna's next swing, landing a few yards away.

"What on Mobius are you doing!?" cried Sonic as his confused look had been replaced by one of surprise. Angel didn't answer as she reset her stance. She then rushed him again, her sword flashing through the air as Sonic narrowly dodged each of her attacks. Now Sonic was certain she was trying to hurt him, possibly even kill him. But as to why she was acting this way, he had no clue. As one of Angel's swings overextended slightly, adding a fraction of a second onto the next attack, Sonic used the spare time to quickly dash out of her immediate attack range. As he ran to a safe distance from her, he turned around expecting her to be somewhat disorientated.

However, to his surprise, she had stayed with him as she ran at him, leaping into the air with her sword raised high above her head. Sonic cursed to himself as he remembered that Angel was skilled enough to follow his movements when they weren't right up in her face, jumping to the right with as much force as he could muster as he narrowly avoided Angel's strike, her sword clanged off the metal floor as she landed in a kneeling position. Landing only a few yards away from the closest wall from the force he'd used, Sonic watched as she slowly stood back up, brushing one of her white forelocks from her eyes.

"Angel...I don't know what in the world has gotten into you, but whatever it is, can't it wait till later?" asked Sonic, his eyes locked with hers, annoyance filling his voice as his face twisted into a scowl.

"No it can't," she said, her normal tough and confident voice having been reduced to nothing more than monotone. "It is nothing personal, Sonic. I'm just upholding my end of a promise. That's all." Suddenly the light clicked on in Sonic's head and his expression softened considerably.

"You mean..." he started.

"Yes..." said Angel in the same monotone voice as she reset her stance once again. "Believe me when I say that I have no personal desire to do this. But I can not go against my word."

"So you'd sacrifice all you've done to help me and my friends just to keep some stupid promise?" he asked her questioningly. Angel's emotionless demeanor immediately turned into one of complete rage at Sonic's last comment as she slammed her sword into the ground hard enough to embed the first two inches of the sharp blade in the solid steel floor before running straight at him.

"Stupid promise!?" she screamed as she rushed him. Sonic debated on dodging her, but at the same time he knew that if he continued to do so it wouldn't solve whatever was going on. He braced himself for her attack with as little indication as possible. "How _dare_ you call my promise stupid!" By now she had reached Sonic and swung her right fist straight at his face. Sonic ducked the first punch, but was caught off guard as Angel's other fist flew into Sonic's gut, knocking the wind from him from the force of the blow and causing him to fall to his knees as he tried to draw in air. She then took a half step back and roundhouse kicked him in the side of the head, flipping him over onto his back. She then picked him up by his chest fur and slammed him as hard as she could against the solid steel wall, holding him in place with as much pressure as she could exert against him.

"You have no _idea_ what a promise means to me or my people, do you?" she yelled at him, tears comprised of both sadness and anger gleaming in her eyes. "To the rest of this world, a promise is just another form of saying you might do something. A means to get people off your back for a short time," she hissed as she put her face right up in his, her eyes locking with his. "But to me and all of my people it means something far more important. A promise represents the honor of not only the person pledging it, but also the others of that person's family. To break a promise is to dishonor not just yourself, but your entire family. I could never allow that to happen. The honor of my family is all I have left. It is what gives me a reason to live..." she said as her voice softened and trailed off. She finally let go of Sonic, dropping him into a sitting position as he tried to collect himself as she turned her back to him and started to walk back to where her sword sat sticking out at an angle in the floor. As soon as he had a chance to regain his composure somewhat, he looked up towards her, regretting looking up so fast as a wave of pain shot through his head where she had kicked him.

"I had no idea," he said with as much sympathy as he could muster at that point. The fact that she had actually hurt him on purpose made it hard to garner any sympathy, but hearing her words had helped him to do so.

"How could you?" she asked as she came to a stop next to her sword, turning to look back at him as she withdrew her sword from its entombment and fully turned to face him. "Now that you know how important this is to me, I hope you understand that I won't hold anything back, despite the fact that we were friends."

"I'm _still_ your friend, despite what you may think," he said. "I don't want to fight you, and I can tell you don't really want to fight me, but it's also obvious that you won't stop. I wish I could convince you to, but I know I can't talk you out of it. You've made that pretty clear." He breathed in deep, closing his eyes as he sighed, relaxing his body. "Do what you will," he said as he opened his eyes again. Angel's stance slackened when she heard this, thrown off guard by what he had said.

"What did you say?" she asked, genuinely confused by Sonic's statement and wondering if she had heard him correctly.

"I can't stand to see you like this. Torn between what you know is right and wrong. So I won't compound the problem by fighting back. That would only serve to hurt you more, and I refuse to do that to a friend," he answered. Angel completely dropped her stance, realizing he had meant what he had said. And as she stood there staring back at him, she couldn't help but picture her mother and father standing there next to him, staring back at her along with the cerulean hedgehog. But what she saw wasn't any of the emotions she had seen on their faces anytime she had thought about them since the night Metal Sonic had laid waste to her home. Usually they were happy from the memories she could recall from her childhood or hate-filled for the one that had killed them and nearly killed their daughter. But this time, they were ones of sadness. Sadness for seeing their little girl being torn apart at the seams. That's when she knew she couldn't do it. She couldn't follow through with the order to kill Sonic. But she also knew that she had to or else it would destroy her. She had not been lying when she had said her family's honor had been all that had kept her going for the last several years. To destroy it now would be to forfeit her own existence. There had to be a way to uphold her family's honor without killing Sonic, but how? The answer hit her like a ton of bricks as she realized what Leviathan's exact orders had been.

"You're right. I do know what is right and what is wrong," she said as she sheathed her sword and walked back over to Sonic. She gave him a smirk, which he returned.

"Glad to see you decided to make the right choice," said Sonic. _I hope I made the right choice too,_ thought Angel to herself before her uppercut hit Sonic full force, knocking him a good five feet into the air to land a couple yards away. He was still breathing, but he lay sprawled out on the floor unmoving, having been knocked out cold from the blow. She then looked up at the ceiling far above, not really focusing on anything in particular.

"It is done master. I have completed your task," she called out.

"Nonsense. He is still alive. I ordered you to kill him, not knock him unconscious," bellowed Leviathan's voice over the room's intercom.

"No master. You said you wished to see him 'die at your feet'," she answered. "If I had killed him now, then I would be unable to complete the task you asked of me." Silence answered her, and she began to fear she had made an error in judgment.

"I must admit that you are right," Leviathan's voice finally answered back after nearly ten seconds of silence. "I would rather see him die in person than merely watch it over a monitor. Very well. Bring him up to the main control room so we can secure him. We'll then wait for him to awaken."

************************************

Leviathan had watched the rather short fight between the two friends with amusement, though he had to admit it wasn't so much of a fight as it had been an extremely heated discussion. Still, it had provided some entertainment. But when he had witnessed Angel only knock out Sonic, he had immediately thought of killing both of them then and there. But he had only thought of it for less than a second. After all, he was above such senseless killing over something as simple as disobedience. There had to be a reason as to why she had not followed through with the order, and whatever the reason was he wanted to know. If it was something that could be corrected, then all the better not to waste a good servant. Her answer had actually made him chuckle slightly to himself. It was the first time in years he had actually made a mistake, and he actually found that he was a little surprised at himself for being thrilled to have someone under his control that was cunning enough to outsmart him if even just one time.

"Clever little girl," he said to himself as he watched her gather the blue hedgehog up in her arms and begin walking towards the turbolift. "Finding a way to defy me and yet still uphold your little promise to me. I shall be more careful in the future to make sure that my orders don't have such a loophole for you to exploit again."

************************************

Sonic groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, the little light in the room making it hard to focus on anything in particular at first. It was only when his unfocused eyes took in the form of something pink did they shoot open, revealing Angel standing a few yards away from him, her face void of emotion as it had been when he had first found her in the room below. He then noticed that both his arms and legs were chained to the ceiling and floor respectively, leaving him hanging in midair, unable to use his speed at all to escape his bonds.

"Why?" was all he could think to ask as he eyed her angrily. Angel didn't answer as she stared back at him, making no outward sign that she had even heard his question. Suddenly, the room filled with bright light as the blast shielding on the viewing windows opened, revealing the late morning sun rising over the forest in the distance. Sonic could do little but close his eyes against the bright light, fighting to adjust enough to open them back up again. Then, just as suddenly as the light had filled the room, it vanished as the windows were once again covered by the blast shield. "So what the heck was the point of that?" he asked. As his eyes started to recover from the blast of light, the sight that now greeted him sent a chill down his spine to every single quill on his back.

"Greetings hedgehog. So nice to finally see you again after all these years," said Leviathan as he stood behind Angel, towering over the echidna by several feet as his red eyes shined brightly in the near dark room.

"You...But how are you alive? We have your remains back in Knothole," said Sonic in disbelief. Leviathan smirked, his clawed fingers clicking together on his hands as he stared at Sonic.

"You mobians are a very gullible breed it seems. I would have figured at the very least you would have figured it out Sonic," said Leviathan as he walked away from Sonic. He came to a stop, then turned his head back towards the blue hedgehog. "After all, you were the one who maintained a distrust of what you saw before you when you first arrived in this timeline."

"It really wasn't that hard to not trust what I saw," said Sonic with a smirk, letting his false sense of surprise melt away. "You're a bad actor." Leviathan chuckled slightly before turning fully around to face him again.

"Oh but I'm afraid you're pointing that accusing finger at the wrong person. I have not been to Knothole in over a decade," said Leviathan.

"Then what-?" started Sonic.

"Was the thing that was leading the Knothole Freedom Fighters?" finished Leviathan. "A rather ingenious clone I created shortly after I had gained their trust to monitor them, as well as eliminate myself as the person they were fighting against. A pity I had to destroy it when you showed up, but after you outwardly opposed the idea that my clone was on your side, I knew the only way for you to drop your suspicion of me would be to eliminate the source of your distrust."

"That and try and trick me with that fake video feed of Robotnik talking to me back in that cave with Rexxon," said Sonic. Leviathan's only response was a grin.

"So you saw through that as well, did you?" he asked.

"Wasn't hard. Robotnik always liked bragging to my face when he could, not through a camera. If he was running the show, I'd have seen him in person long before then anyways," said Sonic.

"You are indeed a unique individual to have seen through all of my smoke and mirrors while everyone else remained in the dark," said Leviathan.

"Before we continue, I have to know," asked Sonic, his demeanor changing from his usual cockiness to a much more serious tone as he braced himself to ask his next questions. "Why didn't you just finish us all off? Why kill only me and Sally? Why keep the village around if you knew where it was?" These questions had been burning in his mind for as long as he had heard the news, and even though he really wasn't in a position to be asking questions, he couldn't help but push for the truth. Leviathan only grinned sinisterly at Sonic's questions.

"My my. Impatient to learn things that would probably be better off not answered," he said sadistically. Sonic's angry glare was the only response Leviathan needed to understand he wasn't going to drop the subject. "Very well. The answers you are seeking are rather simple, I must say. I only killed you and the princess because you two were the only real threat that Robotnik ever faced. She was a masterful tactician and a technical wiz that was second only to Tails out of everyone in Knothole. And then there was you. The hero that couldn't be stopped. Who always managed to find a way to accomplish the impossible even when the odds were stacked so high against you that anyone else would have failed without question. Killing the two of you not only cost the Freedom Fighters their leader and best asset, but it also stripped them of their morale."

"As for why I let the village continue to exist, I did not wish to become bored. It is the same reason I have allowed the other Freedom Fighter villages scattered about the world to continue to exist. Ruling a world where you are unopposed offers no excitement, and the hit and run tactics of what remains of the population help to keep me amused as well as keep my AI matrix sharp by developing new tactics and machines to use against them," he answered. The answer hit Sonic hard enough to choke him up, unable to find words to express his shock and anger. Leviathan watched him struggle to process his response, savoring the moment as he watched the legendary unbreakable spirit of Sonic Hedgehog come crashing down around him.

"You...you...!" stuttered Sonic as he tried to issue a threat, a statement, even a simple put-down towards the mechanical reptile, but finding himself unable to utter anything but the single word.

"Monster? Animal? Beast?" asked Leviathan mockingly. "I've heard them all over the years on the few occasions I've personally killed someone." At this statement, Sonic's left eyebrow arched questioningly.

"Like who? From what I can tell, you've got more than enough toys lying around all over the planet to deal with anyone you want," said Sonic. Leviathan's attitude turned sour as he let out a low growl, turning his head away from Sonic slightly.

"Aside from you and the princess, I've had a reason to kill only five others in person, but the fifth person, that miserable piece of trash, managed to get away from me before I could follow through with my actions. I still have no idea where he is even today," hissed Leviathan, his tail slamming hard into the floor at the end of his answer, startling Angel from the sudden outburst from the mecha bot. But Sonic only burst into laughter, causing Leviathan to snarl angrily at him. "What is so funny?" he bellowed, putting his face, which was more than twice the size of Sonic's head, into the blue hedgehog's face, his eyes glowing so bright they nearly blinded Sonic.

"You're not perfect after all, are ya? You let someone get away, and it wasn't even me. That's gotta put a major hurt on the ol' pride doesn't it, chopper face?" said Sonic mockingly, now having regained a little of his usual cockiness after seeing Leviathan's tantrum. Leviathan let loose a feral cry that caused Sonic's ears to ring as he raised his right forearm back to deliver the killing blow. But he stopped himself midway through the lunge, a toothy grin creeping across his face.

"Very good hedgehog," he said coolly as he regained his composure. "Even though you know you are going to die, you nearly caused me to kill you in a way that ensured you would've gotten in the final mental blow and thus you would've won as far as the battle on the plane of emotions and thoughts is concerned. Very clever indeed. Sometimes I wish I hadn't killed you so early on. You've proven to be quite entertaining these last few days." Sonic merely returned the grin.

"I try," was all he said though.

"Hence the word 'try'. Yet in the end it was a futile effort. You should've known that from the beginning by the way this world's Freedom Fighters were barely hanging on," said Leviathan.

"I don't think it was a futile effort Levi. All your main bases on Mobius are pretty much gone and Little Planet's pretty close to the same fate. I doubt that you could stop all the Freedom Fighters if they joined together for one last assault," said Sonic confidently. Leviathan chuckled softly which quickly grew into a full laugh.

"So you managed to take out some of my bases as well as the other mecha bots. To be honest, I had been debating on dismantling Metal Sonic at the very least for a while now. As I'm sure you are aware of, he had been growing unstable as of late to say the least," said Leviathan. "The others were just a convenience on your part."

"You still haven't told me why that was such a good thing for you," said Sonic, getting annoyed that Leviathan was just beating around the bush.

"It really isn't to be truthful. All you've managed to do is corner me and force a move I was saving for when I finally grew bored with what remains of the population. Without the mecha bots to guard their respective stations, the Freedom Fighter groups have a much higher chance to successfully take and hold my bases on Mobius. If I allowed that to happen, then there is a possibility that your predictions on them being able to successfully assault my own base here and defeat me would come to pass," explained Leviathan.

"Meaning?" asked Sonic.

"Meaning, I have to destroy the population now instead of waiting for a rainy day," answered Leviathan. Sonic's gaping mouth and stunned silence gave Leviathan all the information he needed to know Sonic was once again at a loss for words. Yet, he could detect a hint of disbelief behind his eyes. A small part of the hedgehog still believed even now that Leviathan was unable to carry out such a threat. "Oh I assure you it is quite possible. Years ago I integrated my AI matrix into synaptic receptors that each and every one of my creations has implanted in their neural interfaces, allowing me to control them all with a single thought ranging from massive battlefield commands to having a single velocibot move one of its fingers a centimeter. Even now as we speak, my forces on Mobius are moving in for the kill."

***************************************

"I hate trying to do these kinds of things when Tails isn't around," mumbled a middle-aged badger as he held up what remained of Leviathan's collar towards the single light bulb in Tails' workshop. He had been messing around with the collar since the others had left for Little Planet, hoping to extract some kind of information on what had happened when the first strike team had gone. So far, the charred piece of metal had held fast to its secrets. The badger sighed as he lowered it back down onto the table, picking up a screwdriver and fiddling with a few of the components. This was the last trick he knew, and if it gave no results, he was calling it quits. As he made the last adjustment to the circuitry, he placed the collar on the table, waiting to see if anything happened. After nearly a full minute, the badger sighed before putting the screwdriver on the workbench. "Well, was worth a try," he muttered before picking up the collar and chucking it into the trash bin near the workbench.

"Sam! Are you in here?" yelled a high-pitched male voice. The badger turned towards the door to the workshop and put a hand up to his mouth.

"In here Ken!" he hollered back. A younger badger appeared in the doorway, breathing quite heavily.

"Thank Mobius I found you! Velocibots! Velocibots have been spotted at the edge of the forest and they're headed our way!" cried Ken. Sam quickly got to his feet and followed the younger badger from the workshop at a flat out run.

"How many?" asked Sam.

"You don't want to know..." answered Ken as they reached the edge of Knothole. Ken grabbed the alarm bell and began to ring it as hard and fast as possible as Sam ran into Lily's hut, grabbing the two way radio from its place above the fireplace and flipping it to the channel that the lookout posts used.

"Knothole to Lookout One. Do you copy?" said Sam into the radio. Static came back over the radio for several heartbeats when a gravely male voice answered from the other end.

"Lookout One here. We're kind of busy Knothole. Come back," hissed the radio. Sam swallowed hard. The transmission from Lookout One had been somewhat garbled, but that was always the case. What caught his attention was the massive amount of background noise that he had heard over the radio. Laser fire of all kinds were audible, as was the cries of several velocibots.

"Lookout One. Do we have incoming? Over," asked Sam. Several more seconds ticked by before the next reply.

"Affirmative. Looks like all of Robotropolis is on the move into the Great Forest. Too many to get an accurate count. We'll try to hold them off, but I don't know how long we can. Rally everyone you can at Knothole and be ready for..." answered Lookout One before static answered back over the radio.

"Lookout One, come back! James, come back! Darn it!" shouted Sam as he slammed the radio to the floor, running from the hut to try and muster together some kind of defense for the village.

******************************************

"Well, I believe we have covered all the bases so to speak, have we not?" asked Leviathan as he looked over Sonic as he hung by his chained arms. "And yet...I feel as though I forgot something..." He then reached a clawed hand towards the hedgehog's waist, grasping onto the invisible belt that held the miniature Super Emeralds and giving it a hard tug as the belt snapped off. Sonic said nothing as the belt became visible, Leviathan taking in the sight of the emeralds set in the belt. "Such power. I shall put these to a special use," he whispered before walking over to his command chair and placing the belt on the seat. He then turned back towards Sonic. "Now what to do with you?" Sonic huffed at the question, looking at Leviathan with as much defiance as he could muster at this point.

"One would think you'd have already figured that part out by now tin grin," spat Sonic.

"Feisty to the end, aren't you? Well, one would have thought that I would have your death all figured out, but recent events have given me a broader range of options," said Leviathan as he glanced down at Angel. Up until now, the pink furred echidna had remained silent and motionless, staring of into space to avoid becoming part of the scene that had been unfolding before her. But she knew she could no longer maintain her neutral standings in the matter the moment she felt the scaly synthetic skin and cold metallic claws of Leviathan's hand grip her shoulder. "Now then, my dear girl. The time to prove your loyalty to me has come." He gripped the top of her head with his other hand, turning her gaze towards Sonic. "I order you to fulfill the promise you made. Kill Sonic the Hedgehog right here and now, without hesitation." Angel glanced back at Leviathan for a brief second before looking forward towards Sonic again, unsheathing her sword.

"Yes master. I shall do exactly what you have ordered me to do," she said as she slowly walked towards Sonic, Leviathan following her with his hand still on her shoulder.

"Angel, you don't have to do this!" shouted Sonic as sweat began to collect on his brow. Despite the fact that he knew Angel didn't want to hurt him, he could tell by the look in her eye that her mind was made up, and no amount of talking could change that.

"I made a promise. My master has ordered that I keep it, and so I shall," she said softly as she raised her sword back to deliver the final blow. She then swung the weapon with all her might, but the angle of her attack completely missed Sonic. Instead, the sword went above Sonic's head, slicing through the chains that held him suspended above the floor. But Angel didn't stop there as she swung her body around, bring the sword crashing down on the hand that Leviathan had been holding onto her with, neatly cutting it off as the robotic raptor released a feral cry of pain so loud that the room actually vibrated from the sound waves. "Jump!" shouted Angel as she dropped to the floor, still continuing the initial swing of her sword. Sonic didn't ask questions as he jumped into the air, the sword slashing through the chains that held him to floor.

"How dare you!" shouted Leviathan as he grabbed Angel by three of her dreadlocks with his remaining hand, instantly stopping her momentum as he held her up above his head, preparing to take a bite out of her as she hung painfully by her hair. Angel tried to bring her sword to bear, but was unable to get a decent angle on Leviathan to attack him. But before he could even open his jaws wide enough to even try to get them around her body, Leviathan was slammed in the chest hard by a ball of whirling spines as Sonic spindashed Leviathan as hard as he could with such limited space to build up momentum for the attack. But it was still enough to throw the mecha bot off balance, forcing him to drop Angel who fell as gracefully to the floor as she could.

However, Leviathan wasn't able to regain his center of balance as easily as Angel as he stumbled backwards several feet before finally managing to get himself back under control just a couple feet away from the giant windows overlooking the base. As he looked back up, the only thing that greeted his eyes was a ball of blue as Sonic collided with his face, smashing his left eye and knocking him head over heels as he went crashing through not just the windows, but also the blast shield plating on the outside of the glass. Sonic uncurled and landed next to the command chair, both him and Angel staring out the window as the morning sunlight and a cool breeze filled the command center. After a few seconds, a soft thud could be heard emitting from somewhere below the windows.

"Think he's dead?" asked Angel, looking over at Sonic. He glanced back at her.

"No way," he answered, shaking his head. "He's a lot tougher than that." He then picked up the emerald belt off the chair, giving it a once over before deciding that he would just have to deal with it being tighter from having it strapped further up the belt as he threw it around his waist, buckling it with a slight wince at the tightness.

"I suppose. So what do we do now?" asked Angel as she walked up next to him.

"Well, Levi won't be back on his feet for a minute or two, so I want some answers. Did you do all that stuff in the other room and in here as an act or what, cause if so you didn't have to make it so painful," asked Sonic, rubbing his chin where Angel's blow earlier still stung slightly. She looked away from him.

"Well, to tell the truth, I wasn't acting at all. I wasn't lying about what promises mean to me. I could not disobey Leviathan. Rather, I was praying that Leviathan would screw up," she said.

"What do you mean?" asked Sonic, his left eye arching up.

"He made a mistake when he sent me to kill you in that giant room below. He told me that I was to kill you so that he could see you die at his feet. Well, I took that literally, meaning that if I killed you there, he couldn't see you 'die at his feet' as he had wished. He then canceled out that order when he had me tie you up like you were. The same thing happened here. When he ordered me to fulfill the promise I had made, he messed up by not specifying that it was my promise to him and not the one I made to you last night that I was supposed to fulfill. And the very first order he gave me was to follow through with whatever I was told to do until I had completed the task," she answered. Sonic couldn't help but crack a big smile as the realization dawned on him.

"And since he told you to fulfill the promise first and kill me second, he forced you to do them in that order," said Sonic.

"Exactly," she said. Sonic's grin then turned to one of worry as he took a step back.

"That doesn't mean that once we do resolve this matter you're going to try to kill me, does it?" he asked. Angel chuckled, which made Sonic even more nervous. Seeing his reactions she held up her hands in defense.

"Oh no no. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. Once Leviathan's dead, I'm no longer bound by my promise to him, I swear it," she explained.

"Smart," said Sonic as he gave her a thumbs up. "Very smart." A loud echoing cry from outside caused them both to look back towards the windows. "Great. Sounds like ol' chopper face is pretty ticked off."

"I think we can take him. Between the two of us he won't stand a chance," said Angel as she gripped her sword. But as she started to walk towards the turbolift, Sonic threw an arm out in front of her.

"No," he said, keeping his gaze on the window. "If what Levi said is true, then one of us has to find the others before he sends guards to kill them. And no offense, but I'll be able to hold Levi off a lot longer than you can." Angel batted his arm away and moved in front of him.

"You have no right to deny me the chance to settle the score with that monster after all the things he's done to me," she said angrily, glaring right into the hedgehog's eyes. But Sonic didn't even flinch.

"I'm not trying to, but saving our friends and getting the Timestones is far more important right now. And if Levi gets involved in any way, then there's a good chance someone's gonna get hurt," said Sonic as he brushed Angel aside, walking up to the edge of one of the shattered windows. "If anyone's gonna get hurt, it's gonna be me."

"But going up against him alone is crazy," said Angel.

"Maybe," he said looking back at her with a smile on his face. "But then Sal's always said I was crazy." He then reached into his backpack, taking out Nicole and handing it to Angel. "I think you guys will need Nicole a lot more than I will." He then looked back out the window as he crossed his arms over his chest, throwing them out as his fur burst into a rainbow of colors, energy stars circling his body as the Super Emerald miniatures' power flowed into him. He then silently reached down and tore the two metal cuffs off his ankles with ease before doing the same to the ones still on his wrists. "Just find Tails and the others and then get the Timestones. If we don't get those, then everything we've sacrificed up to this point is lost." Angel tried to protest, but found herself unable to argue with the hedgehog. She sheathed her sword, then gave him a small nod as she put Nicole into her shorts' pocket.

"Understood. I'll do my best," she said sternly.

"Thanks for understanding, and good luck," he said, looking back at her with a smile on his face.

"Good luck to you as well Sonic," she said before she turned and ran into the turbolift, the doors slamming shut behind her. Sonic returned his attention forward, floating out of the broken window and looking down towards the foot of the base. His enhanced vision quickly spotted Leviathan rising to his feet nearly two hundred stories below him. _Man...If he survived a fall like that, taking him down won't be easy,_ thought Sonic as he watched the robotic raptor steady himself. Then his sensitive ears picked up something that sent a chill down his spine. _He's laughing...Why is he laughing?_

"I just can't believe it," said Leviathan to himself as he got his laughter under control. "Outsmarted not once, but twice in one day. And by the same person no less. What a powerful and cunning ally she'll make once I get her back under my control." He couldn't stop the grin that had etched its way onto his face as he started walking towards the entrance to the tower. But before he could take even three steps, a flash of white light, like that of a flashbulb, burst in his face. "And thus the hero arrives, eager to defend his friends," he said mockingly as he stared into the red eyes of Hyper Sonic as he floated a few yards in front of the mecha bot.

"Can it Levi. After everything you've done, I'm not in the mood to hear it," said Sonic, fire raging behind his eyes, his face set in anger.

"Oh that's too bad hedgehog. I've wanted to test my metal, so to speak, against your hyper form ever since you blind-sided me back in our own timeline," said Leviathan. Sonic merely smirked, gesturing to Leviathan's severed right hand.

"After what Angel did to you, I doubt you'd last ten seconds against me," said Sonic.

"I wouldn't hold beliefs in what you first perceive," was Leviathan's only response as he closed his still functioning right eye. Suddenly, wiring and liquid metal shot out of the severed limb, quickly molding into the shape of a clawed hand before synthetic skin rapidly grew over the exposed parts of the inner workings. Sonic's mouth gaped in awe and worry as watched the process in the few brief seconds it took. Both of Leviathan's eyes shot open, the left eye fully repaired and functioning. "Because the truth can be far more terrifying than what your mind believes to be the truth."

"How did you do that?" asked the still awe struck Sonic. "Last time I hurt you, it took you almost ten times the amount of time to repair a lot less damage than that." Leviathan chortled as he bared his fangs and claws, getting into an offensive stance.

"Foolish hedgehog. I've had years to perfect the technology that gave me life. I am far superior to the weakling you knew from our timeline. So much so that I doubt even your powerful hyper form can stop me," hissed Leviathan, launching himself at Sonic with his fore claws outstretched. Sonic quickly brought his own hands out in front of him, catching Leviathan's clawed hands by the wrist despite them being twice the size of his own hands, and squeezing as hard as he could, feeling both of Leviathan's wrists crack and snap as Leviathan's forward motion came to an abrupt halt. Sonic smiled wickedly at Leviathan.

"Looks to me someone got too full of themselves and forgot what I can do in this form," said Sonic, noting that Leviathan's face went from being full of confidence to one of worry. Sonic then performed a fast back flip while still holding Leviathan's wrists, lifting the mecha bot over him and slamming him to the ground on his back. He then let go of Leviathan's wrists, which were now completely crushed into an unrecognizable shape. He then grabbed Leviathan by the tail and flew up into the air to about the halfway mark of the command tower. He then started to whip Leviathan around by the tail, the robotic raptor screeching in both pain and anger at Sonic as he swung him around faster and faster.

"Enjoy the flight Levi, cause it's on the house!" he shouted as he let go of the tail, sending Leviathan flying away from the tower and out over the remains of the security area Sonic had lain waste to not half an hour earlier. Leviathan's high-pitched cries of anger could be heard echoing in the distance as Sonic watched him finally crash through the canopy of the forest he and Angel had been in the night before. "Ouch...That had to hurt," said Sonic, smiling from ear to ear as he watched Leviathan's plunge through the treetops. A very loud screaming cry echoed from within the forest, causing Sonic's smile to instantly turn into a frown. "Doesn't know when to quit, does he?" he said to himself before flying off towards the forest to find Leviathan.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Angel ran down the fifth corridor of the below ground floor containing the detention cell blocks, but as of yet she hadn't found a trace of where Tails or the others were being held. As she rounded the corner of a three-way intersecting corridor, she screeched to a halt as she came face to face with a velocibot. Leaping back as she drew her sword, Angel landed in a defensive stance, eyes watching the velocibot carefully as it stared at her. But when the velocibot made no attempt to attack, she grew nervous. That's when she noticed that this velocibot looked different than the ones she had seen before. This one was covered from its tail to shoulders in glimmering violet metal with metal tubes running through its body in some places. Its chest was flesh, but had two thick tubes running through it. Attached near the end of the tail was a giant, three pronged clamp. Two small sheets of two inch thick metal jutted from its shoulder blades. Its face was also flesh just like its chest, its right eye a beautiful emerald green while its left eye was replaced by a glowing optic sensor set in an eye patch-like piece of blue metal. Around its neck was a pendant with a violet gemstone set inside it.

"You are looking for you friends, are you not?" it asked in a barely audible, hoarse whisper. Angel was taken aback, as she hadn't expected it to speak to her. Still, despite the creature's apparent pacifism, she didn't drop her guard just yet.

"Yes, I am," she answered, eyeing the reptile cautiously. The raptor stared at her for a couple of seconds, then turned its back to Angel, pointing down the corridor.

"Follow this corridor till you reach the next intersection, then take a right. Continue down that way till you reach the end, then turn left. Your friends should be somewhere in the cell blocks contained there," said the raptor.

"Why are you helping me? Aren't you one of Leviathan's underlings?" asked Angel, still unsure if she could trust the raptor or not. The raptor turned to face her.

"You and I are much alike my child. Honor means more to us than life itself," it said as it looked up towards the ceiling, though it didn't focus its attention on anything in particular. It seemed rather to be staring out into space. "I was immensely disgraced many years ago by Leviathan. For years I have stood by and watched our world crumble around us without ever once trying to stop it," it said softly. It then returned its gaze back towards Angel. "I now have a chance to redeem the honor I lost to him by helping you and your friends." Angel lowered her sword, her face softening as she stared into the raptor's real eye, seeing the same emotions staring back at her as she had felt just minutes ago. A strong sense of hatred for Leviathan, as well as the longing to restore the honor that he had stolen from this creature.

"You're not lying," said Angel softly as she sheathed her sword. She then gave the cybernetic raptor a nod. "Thank you for your help." The raptor nodded back, then walked past Angel with a rather fast stride to its step as it walked back the way Angel had come. Angel watched the raptor for a few seconds as it walked swiftly down the corridor before turning down one of the intersections, vanishing from her view. _Why do I get the feeling I've seen that creature before?_ she thought to herself before she turned her attention forward, continuing down the corridor towards where the raptor had indicated.

********************************************

A loud whine echoed through the rather large detention cell as the occupant struggled against the complex machinery that held its captive bound to the cell wall. The prisoner had been at it for nearly two hours now, pushing himself to his limits as he tried in vain to get even one hand free of the confines of his cell. This latest attempt proved to be no more effective than the first attempt had been as Cody finally gave into his fate, going limp in the grasp of the four hydraulic cuffs that held his body suspended against the wall.

"I guess I have to give this timeline's Robotnik credit. He sure doesn't screw around with his security like he does in ours," said Cody softly as he shut his eyes, letting the darkness calm his overworked body somewhat. As he hung there in suspension, his mind began to go through what options were left to him. As far as he could tell, the hydraulic cuffs clamped around his wrists and ankles were adequate to cancel out his robotic strength. And with his arms in their current positions, there was no way he would be able to bring his wrist-mounted laser to bear against the cuffs. _So that's it..._ he thought to himself as he opened his eyes again.

"I suppose there really isn't any more that I can do without knowing if Sonic and Angel are still out there or what has happened to the others," he said as his eyes flashed brightly for a second. "I just hope its enough to cause some serious damage to this place...Cody Griffor authorizes activation of self-destruct sequence." He could hear his inner AI matrix clicking and beeping as it tried to process the response. He had grown somewhat used to the background noise his artificial brain made when he gave it commands like this, though it still sounded too loud for him at times. Suddenly, he could hear a stale, monotone male voice in his head.

"_Voice identification acknowledged. Activation code required to begin procedure,_" said the voice in his head. Cody sighed as he went over it once more though his head. After all, if he went through with it, then that was it. There was no turning back once he set the process in motion. But as far as he could tell, there was nothing more he could do. It was now or never.

"Activation code Omega Sig-" he began to say before a loud swishing noise coming from the cell's door caught his attention. Suddenly, the door split apart into two pieces as they fell to the floor with a loud clang, the light from the corridor flooding into the room. Cody could make out the silhouette of a mobian standing in the doorway, but the light from the corridor was too blinding to make out who it was.

"Finally! I was beginning to think that raptor told me the wrong area," came a familiar voice from the figure in the doorway.

"Angel!?" exclaimed Cody in complete surprise.

"Sorry I took so long to find you. I went through about half a dozen of these stupid things before I found you," she said as she ran up next to the bound robian, raising her sword up towards his bonds. "Now hold still." Cody closed his eyes so he wouldn't accidentally make any sudden moves as he heard four rapid swish sounds similar to the one he had heard before the door had given way. The next thing he knew, he was falling to the floor, quickly opening his eyes to see how to position himself so he didn't topple when he hit. He quickly righted himself as he heard a small buzzing in the back of his mind signaling that the self destruct program was aborted from not having the activation code in the allotted time frame. He breathed an inward sigh of relief at this, glad he had taken the time to second guess himself before he'd gone through with it.

"Where's Sonic?" he asked as they ran out of the holding cell and down the hall towards the next block of cells.

"He's keeping Leviathan busy while we get the others and get the Timestones that are in the building," she said.

"Leviathan? But he was killed several days ago. How could he be alive?" asked a confused Cody. Angel just glanced over at him.

"It's a long and complicated story, and it'll keep till we get out of this mess," she said as they came upon the next cell. With a quick slash of her sword, the door caved in as easily as the one to Cody's holding cell had.

"Get back! I'll shoot! I swear I will!" shouted a female voice from the far end of the room. As the light from the corridor drove away the shadows of the room, Angel saw Lily curled up in a ball near the far left corner of the room, trembling. In her hands she clutched her blaster, though she wasn't aiming it at anyone. Instead, she was holding it to her chest, her eyes held shut. Angel glanced back at Cody, who nodded as he took the lead.

"It's okay Lily. It's only us," said Cody softly. Lily's eyes shot open as she turned her head, her gaze rising to meet his yellow eyes. Instantly, she sprang from her spot on the floor, embracing the robian in a hug.

"Oh Cody! Thank Mobius you're still alive!" she cried as he returned the hug. Angel watched the two of them from the doorway, frowning as she watched the scene unfold. Something wasn't right, she could tell that much already. But what it was exactly she couldn't put her finger on. She quickly dismissed the feeling though knowing that time was of the utmost importance at the moment.

"Come on, we have to keep moving," said Angel as she turned her back to the two hedgehogs. Then, as she heard a loud clang noise echo throughout the room, followed by the running motion of Lily's footsteps behind her, the answer to her uneasy feeling hit her like a lead brick. Lily was armed, but Cody had no way of fighting back against someone that entered his cell. _But that could only mean one thing!_ she thought frantically. But before she could even begin to turn back around, she felt the cold tip of Lily's blaster touch the back of her head.

"Don't move," said Lily softly. Cody had been halfway through picking himself up off the floor when those two words caused him to completely stop his motion, his head awkwardly turning up to look at what he couldn't believe his eyes were telling him. "Drop the sword." Angel did as she was told, dropping the blade to the cold steel floor.

"Why?" asked Angel, keeping her eyes looking straight ahead, never making any attempt to turn back to face the red hedgehog. Cody finally broke free of the shock that had paralyzed him, quickly getting back to his feet. He then started to move towards the two girls.

"Stop!" said Lily sternly, glancing back at Cody who complied. "Please don't make this any harder than it is by getting involved."

"Make what harder? Why are you doing this?" asked Cody.

"Just don't, okay?" she asked softly, returning her gaze to Angel. While she couldn't see what was going on during their exchange, just hearing their voices told Angel all she needed to know about what was going on.

"It was Leviathan, wasn't it? He put you up to this, didn't he?" she asked Lily. Lily flinched slightly when she heard the question, just enough that Angel could feel the subtle motion of the gun moving just barely, confirming her suspicion. "I thought so. He always used to say to me that the world was just one big chess board, filled with hundreds of possible moves and counter-moves, and that the best way to win was to prepare for all the possible counter-moves that might be used against your own moves with your own counter-move to the counter-move your opponent used. So basically, you are the counter-move to my counter-move against his move against me, plain and simple."

"What are you talking about?" asked Lily, trying not to let the complex analogy Angel had set forth distract her.

"It means that he planned for me to betray him by forcing you to do this act if I did betray him. You are to kill me for betraying him after he forced me to be his ally. As I said, simple," she said.

"Is that true?" asked Cody. Lily glanced back at Cody, then back at Angel before returning her gaze back to Cody. When she turned back the second time, Cody could see her sky blue eyes were holding back tears.

"Yes, it's true," she said as she closed her eyes, turning her gaze away from Cody. "He promised me that if I was to kill Angel if she freed me that he would let you and me go free and that he would never hunt us down provided we never left Little Planet."

"You know good and well he was lying about that. He'd kill you the instant you did his dirty work for him," shouted Cody, unable to believe that this alternate version of his wife had even entertained such a thought, let alone gone this far with it.

"He wasn't lying," said Angel, catching both Lily and Cody's attention away from each other and back on her. "Leviathan may be an evil, twisted abomination, but if there is one thing he is not, it's a liar."

"How can you possibly know that?" asked Cody, his voice not hiding at all his disbelief in Angel's statement.

"Easy. He never lied to me once in all the years I grew up around him," she said. An uneasy feeling spread through her as she realized that the two hedgehogs had focused their question filled gazes towards her, despite not really being able to see them looking at her. "Don't ask me about that, because I won't tell you any details. But he does know that merely giving hints of the full truth can be far more effective that just lying about something."

"But that wasn't 'hints of the truth' as you call it. That was a flat out streamlined statement he gave her," protested Cody.

"This is true, but what evidence can you provide to show that you are right in your assumptions that he was lying to her?" she asked. Cody started to say something, but backed down after realizing he really had no answer for that question.

"Regardless, you can't do this Lily! It's not right!" shouted Cody. Lily turned back to Cody, her eyes now bursting with tears, but her face twisted into one of anger.

"Not right? Not right!? You have no idea what 'not right' is! Was it right that you were taken from me like you were? I never even found a body! I've had no closure with your death! And then you just up and fly back into my life like nothing ever happened! You think I can let you go a second time? I was on the very edge of taking my life after you were taken from me last time! I refuse to go through that again!" she shouted at Cody. He paused briefly before he said anything, realizing that he had to choose his words carefully.

"Lily, as much as you want to believe that I'm this world's Cody, I'm not. And you're not my Lily, that much is for certain," he said, his first sentence being spoken rather softly, but turning sterner as he finished out the second. Lily looked at him completely awestruck.

"How can you say that?" she asked shakily, her voice growing more quiet as she continued to speak. "I'm your wife..." Angel, meanwhile, had been all but forgotten by Lily by this point, but the echidna had decided it was best to not move or say anything. Lily was struggling right now, that much was obvious. A single action on her part might make Lily snap and actually follow through with Leviathan's order.

"No you're not. You're not my wife just as I'm not your husband," said Cody. Here he paused for a few seconds, trying to let it all sink in. "We come from different worlds. We have lived different lives." He took a step towards Lily, who this time didn't respond as she stared back at Cody. "Now please, put the gun down and let's put this all behind us." He took another step forward, but this time Lily responded, jamming the gun into the back of Angel's skull hard enough to make the echidna's head lean forward.

"I don't care if we are from different worlds, you're still my husband whether you believe it or not and we will be together no matter what!" she shouted, her trigger finger starting to squeeze. A loud blast rang out through the room, echoing down the hallway and vanishing as quickly as it had come. Lily's finger froze in a half-squeezed position on the trigger, still pointed into the back of Angel's head as the echidna stood in front of her, having never been shot. Lily stared back at Cody, shock having completely paralyzed her. Cody's wrist-mounted laser cannon was still trailing a very thin trail of smoke from the muzzle as he pointed it at a spot on the wall just inches above Lily's head, a smoldering hole drilled halfway through the metal of the wall. His face was set in stone, holding a look of both pity and resolve.

"Don't do something we'll both regret," said Cody, the softness of his voice having been completely dropped, leaving only a monotone voice behind in its wake. Lily continued to stand as still as a statute, taking in what had just happened, even though she was unable to believe it.

"You...You just..." she whispered, barely audible.

"Yes. I just shot at you. That's your only warning. Please don't force me to actually have to hit you," he said sternly. Lily gazed into Cody's glowing yellow eyes, trying to find any hint of the kindness she had seen when the two of them had first met back in Knothole only a few days ago. But unlike last time, she didn't see that kindness staring back at her like before. This time, she only saw the cold, calculating eyes of a robot staring back at her. It was then she realized he was right about everything. Sure, he cared for her as much as the Cody of her world had, but he didn't truly love her like her world's Cody had. His heart belonged to the Lily of his world. And nothing, not even spending the rest of their lives together in peace without fear, would change that.

She then realized just how close her finger was to pulling the trigger. She let out a loud gasp as she threw the gun from her hand as though it were molten slag, backing away from Angel quickly before hitting the wall, sliding down into sitting position as she took in the magnitude of what she had just transpired.

"By the heavens of Mobius, what have I done?" she cried as she started to shake almost violently. Cody ran over to her as Angel watched from the doorway, making sure to keep an eye out for any patrols. Or at least that was what she was telling herself. Truth was she just didn't want to get drawn into the emotional scene that had unfolded behind her during the last minute or so, as well as the fact that Cody's shot had pretty much scared the living tar out of her and she was still collecting herself somewhat regardless of there being no outward signs the shot had scared her like it had.

"Lily? Lily talk to me," said Cody softly as he held Lily's shoulders gently, trying to coax her to look up at him. Her shaking was getting worse. He realized if he didn't calm her back down, the stress would eventually cause her to have a panic attack that could potentially kill her if it got too bad. "Lily. It's Cody, everything is okay now. Please talk to me. Let me know you're still here with us," he begged her. Her eyes glanced up finally, looking into Cody's eyes. Slowly, her shaking began to stabilize somewhat as she continued to stare into the robian's eyes.

"Cody...What...What did I do? Did I...Did I...?" she asked in a whisper, never taking her eyes off Cody's.

"No. No you didn't. You didn't do anything," he said softly, pulling her into an embrace. Her arms hung at her sides, not returning the hug. She then spotted Angel standing in the doorway, the echidna's eyes glancing over at her, but she didn't seem afraid or even angry at her. If anything, she looked a little concerned, though it was kind of hard to tell. But the reassuring glance from Angel was the catalyst that sparked her return back to reality as her arms sprang from her sides and clamped around Cody, hugging him as hard as she could as she finally stopped shaking.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so very sorry!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.

"I know," he whispered into her ear. "It's okay...Everything's going to be okay." Angel couldn't help but smile slightly as she saw Lily calm back down enough to at least get her shaking back under control.

"Think you two will be okay if I leave you here while I find the others?" she asked Cody. He nodded slightly, not releasing his embrace or even looking over at Angel.

"Yeah. She'll be okay in a few minutes," he said. Angel nodded as she started to walk out of the cell room, but suddenly stopped. She then looked back at the two of them.

"Lily?" she said softly, getting the magenta furred hedgehog's attention.

"Yes?" she asked, taking a big sniff as tears still streaked her face.

"I just wanted to say I'm proud to know someone with a will as strong as yours," said Angel, taking her far left dreadlock in her left hand, tugging on it slightly as she rolled it between her fingers nervously. "I'll be honest. If I had a chance to bring the ones I cared about back into my life like you, I don't think I could've stopped myself from following through with whatever it took, regardless of the consequences." Lily stared blankly at Angel for a few awkward seconds as the echidna continued to fiddle with her dreadlock. Lily then nodded slowly.

"Thank you. For someone like you with such a strong will to begin with to say something like that means a lot to me," she said. Angel gave her a soft smile, throwing her dreadlock back over her shoulder before running out of the room, picking up her sword as she left, leaving the two hedgehogs alone to sort out the events that had just taken place.

*******************************************

Robo Knuckles slammed his fist, dagger claws first, into the monitor he was watching, the view of the three mobians in Lily's holding cell vanishing in the blink of an eye as glass shards rained outwards only to bounce harmlessly off his metallic body. He knew it. He had known that there was no way to guarantee that either one of the two females would follow through with their orders. Now they were undoubtedly freeing the other three prisoners from their holding cells and would be heading back up here to the control room to get the Timestone that was waiting inside the center's computer mainframe. While he knew that the mainframe would be all but impossible for them to disable, he still didn't like it. Leviathan was taking too many chances and so far not one of them had paid off. He turned his back to the line of monitors, coming to a stop when he came to face two velocibots.

"Leviathan's little pawns have failed us. Now it is our turn to prove to Leviathan why he should place his faith in a more reliable source for dealing with threats," he said sadistically. The two velocibots merely hissed softly as if they were really getting excited by the prospect of a fight, even though they weren't programmed to have emotions. Robo Knuckles knew this and welcomed it. It only served to make the two robots even more dangerous because they would have no second thoughts at all about crushing the mobians in the lower levels of the tower. "Onward!" he shouted as the two velocibots screamed into the air loudly before turning towards the turbolift.

*******************************************

Sonic flew a few yards off to the side of Leviathan as the two combatants raced through the winding trees of the forest, each of them eyeing the other one with burning hatred showing in their eyes. Leviathan was the first to launch an attack, leaping sideways and bounding off the trunk of a rather large tree, throwing himself at the rainbow furred hedgehog. Sonic merely flipped himself around so that he was facing Leviathan feet first with a much narrower profile than he had presented the robotic raptor originally. This caused Leviathan's attack with his fore claws to go wide on either side of Sonic, who slammed his feet into the raptor's chest. He then swung his whole body forward in a flip, kicking Leviathan in the head and sending him flying over Sonic to land on his side, rolling along the ground before crashing into another tree trunk as big as the one he had bounced off of. Sonic then flew up right above Leviathan, curling into a spindash and flinging himself full force into Leviathan. A large dust cloud was kicked up from the force of the blow, and as the dust settled, Sonic could see that he had caused the raptor's midsection to be crumpled nearly a full foot into the ground, the raptor's eyes closed as if it had died.

"You have got to be kidding me..." whispered Sonic with disbelief as he watched the area he had damaged begin to rapidly repair itself, expanding outward and reshaping into its original form within a matter of a few seconds. Leviathan's eyes shot open, a loud snarl echoing from his jaws as he quickly righted himself, glaring at Sonic as he hovered a few yards away.

"I have to give you credit Sonic," said Leviathan as he stared at his foe. "So far, you've managed to toss me around more than anyone else I've ever fought. It's just too bad that you don't have the power behind your blows to actually do any damage that I can't fix in seconds."

"If that's the case, then I suppose I should stop playing around and actually try to kill you now," said Sonic as he got into a fighting pose, a smile plastered across his face. It was true that he had only been playing around at first to give Angel more time. But as the fight had started to drag on with Leviathan showing no signs of lasting damage, even as Sonic began to actually fight for real, he had come to the realization that he might actually be unable to kill the mecha bot. This latest attack had confirmed at the very least that mere physical strength, even with him in his hyper form, would be insufficient to finish off Leviathan. He had put all his might into that last spindash, and even though Leviathan's armor plating had deflected some of the impact, if that wasn't enough to kill the raptor, none of his attacks would.

"Something tells me that you have been trying for at least a little while. Your attacks against me have been growing in intensity and your increased rate of breathing indicates that you're beginning to wear yourself out," said Leviathan. Sonic wanted to tell him off, but he knew that if Leviathan had noticed, he couldn't hide it. He _was _getting worn down, but not fully because of his own endurance. He could feel that the power of the miniature Super Emeralds was beginning to falter. It was becoming harder and harder to maintain his hyper form with each attack he made. He found it a little strange though that they would be giving out after only about five or six minutes. Comet had said that they would at least last for ten before they would die, and he seriously doubted his attacks could've drained that much power from them. As it stood now, he guessed the emeralds would give out after his next attack if he put every last bit of their power into it, and he knew he had to if he was to have any chance to beat this monster he now faced. "Come at me with everything you've got Sonic. I prefer to take you down when you're fighting your hardest."

"Then who am I to deny you that?" said Sonic as he started to draw the last of the miniature's power into his body, the energy stars circling him doubling in intensity as chaos energy crackled in the air off his energized body. He half expected Leviathan to at least flinch as he drew in the final bits of chaos energy, but when the raptor didn't even so much as bat an eye, he began to worry that this last attack might not be enough. He frowned as he pushed that thought to the back of his mind, squaring himself up for what he knew would be his last shot at the mecha bot.

"Well, what are you waiting for Sonic?" teased Leviathan as he confidently stood his ground, not taking his eyes off the rainbow hedgehog for an instant. Sonic's frown turned into a smirk which then became a small chuckle, which in turn cause Levi's face to frown. "What is it you find so funny?"

"Oh nothing..." said Sonic softly, his eyes closed as he floated gently in the cool morning air. "I was just thinking of how much I'm gonna enjoy kicking your tin can to the curb!" he shouted, his eyes shooting open as he shot from his position so fast that Leviathan could've sworn he saw two other Sonics for a brief instant where Sonic had been. Just as he had processed and dismissed the optical illusion he felt two hands grasp onto his collar from above. Swinging his head around so fast he was surprised he didn't break a servo in the process, he looked back to see Sonic sitting on his back, gripping his collar like a bull rider grasps the harness on a bull.

"How did you-" he started to say before he felt a massive burst of chaos energy flood into his systems, his sentence cut off as he let out a primal scream of pain, falling to the ground as Sonic held on tight, making sure that he wouldn't be shaken loose again like last time. Leviathan thrashed around, desperately trying to get Sonic off him while at the same time writhing in pain from the amount of chaos energy that was coursing through his body. Sonic held on tight through the rough ride, even as he was smacked repeatedly against the ground as Leviathan's body twisted and turned in its pain-ridden state.

But even as Leviathan squirmed about, Sonic could tell something was wrong. When he had been floating in the air just a few moments ago, the energy drain from the emeralds, while constant, had been slow. Now, the drain was spiking like crazy, fluctuating between small bursts to large chucks of it. Suddenly, Sonic's fur faded back to its cool blue again as Leviathan went still. _Please tell me he bit the dust after all that_, though Sonic to himself as he gazed up towards Leviathan's face. But what greeted his eyes sent a chill down his spine to the very tips of his toes. Leviathan's red eyes glared back at him, their glow now twice as bright as before. Leviathan slowly chuckled which quickly grew into a full bout of laughter as he looked back at Sonic.

"You fool," hissed Leviathan. Suddenly a sound similar to the crack of a lightning strike sounded as Sonic was thrown violently off the raptor, slamming back first into the trunk of a tree and sliding down to its base. It took Sonic a second to regain his sense of where he was before he flipped back to his feet, wondering what in the world had thrown him off Leviathan's back. He knew that Leviathan hadn't moved other than to look back at him, which meant that the attack had to have come from somewhere else, yet even as he quickly scanned the area with his eyes he found no trace of anyone else among them.

"How did you do that?" asked Sonic, finally giving up on the idea that it had been someone other than the raptor. But as his gaze returned to Leviathan, the sight that he now saw sent a chill coursing down his spine. The metal armor on the raptor's body, while normally a shiny silver in color, was now a dull golden color. One that Sonic remembered all too well as he recalled the same kind of transformation that Metal Sonic had undergone not that long ago while tapping into the Master Emerald's power. Leviathan only chortled as he slowly got onto his feet, rising up to his full height at a leisurely pace.

"Come now my dear friend. I would have figured that the answer to that question would have been obvious even to you. Especially after your last attack," he responded, slowly taking a fighting stance. The answer hit Sonic like a bat upside the head. Leviathan had purposely let him think he was shorting him out, when in reality he had been draining his body of the emeralds' power the whole time. _That was the reason their power was fading so fast! Not because I was draining it away when I attacked, but because each time I made contact with him he absorbed some of it into himself!_ thought Sonic as he mentally kicked himself in the head for not realizing it sooner. Sonic's wide-eyed facial expression caused by his realization was all Leviathan needed to see to know that Sonic had figured it out. "Ha! I knew you'd figure it out it you just thought about it for a second. Too bad for you that you didn't stop to think about it before now." Sonic's mouth slowly curled into a grin.

"Heh...So maybe I'm not hyper anymore. All I say is this evens the playing field a little bit for you. After all, I was kicking you around pretty good before now," said Sonic, trying to put as much confidence behind his voice as he could.

"You are bad at bluffing, little hedgehog. With the power I absorbed from your hyper form, I could crush you in an instant," said Leviathan. He then opened his mouth wide, though no sound came from it.

"Then just try-" Sonic started to say before he was cut off as a blast of chaos energy flew out of Leviathan's mouth, landing right in front of Sonic. The explosion from the blast blew Sonic off his feet and back a good ten yards as he hit the ground on his back before flipping over onto his stomach. He slowly got to his hands and knees, spitting out a bit of dirt that had gotten into his mouth during his flip. He looked up at the robotic raptor as it closed its mouth slowly, baring its fangs in a toothy grin. Sonic couldn't believe he'd been caught off-guard like that. He hadn't even seen the blast coming till it had hit.

"Run little hedgehog," said Leviathan as slowly started to walk towards Sonic. "Run as fast as you can," he taunted. Sonic gritted his teeth as he glanced down at the emeralds set in his belt. Their glow had all but faded. Only a tiny glimmer of light was now being emitted by each one. _Darn it...If I try to go hyper again, I doubt it'll be any different than when I first tried to do it in this world. Besides, all it would do is give that mechanized lizard a chance to suck up even more power if it actually worked,_ thought Sonic. He wanted to be able to back up his bluff, but as much as he wanted to believe he could keep up with the mecha bot, he knew it was hopeless to try now that Leviathan had absorbed as much chaos energy as he had. Sonic back flipped onto his feet, taking off like a shot as he heard Leviathan's laughter bellow from behind him.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"How much further till we get to the command center?" asked Tails as he ran along side Angel as she led him and the other freshly freed captives back up the winding tower towards where Nicole had indicated two of the Timestones were being kept. Saber and Slasher were behind the two of them, trying to detect any velocibots that Angel might have missed on her initial assault of the corridors, but so far they hadn't sensed anything. Lily sat on Slasher's back, her arms wrapped around Cody's body to keep from falling off. The female hedgehog had managed to get herself back under control somewhat, but Cody could tell she wasn't fully back on her feet after their little incident. Both of them had agreed to not mention it to the others for fear they wouldn't trust Lily after she almost shot Angel even though Cody could tell that betrayal was the last thing on her mind, that thought having been replaced with a deep focus on the task at hand. They had, however, informed them that Leviathan was the true mastermind behind the planet's near destruction.

"It should be the next floor if were on floor I think we're on. There's one big room that makes up the most of the space between the second floor of the tower and all but the command center at the top," answered Angel as she side-stepped one of the fallen velocibots she had dispatched earlier. As the double doors to the over-sized room opened, Angel flung out both her arms, stopping the others in their tracks. "We've got company," she said, eyeing the three robots that were standing near the center of the room near the turbolift. One was much shorter than the other two, standing roughly four and a half feet tall with five thick dreadlocks flowing down its backside. Its armor was a deep crimson color, marked only by the white tips on the dreadlocks and the white "V" mark on its chest. Its black eyes held neon green pupils that glowed softly. Its muzzle, nose, hands, and legs were metallic gray, as was the nearly eight inch long dagger claws sticking out of its wrists. The other two robots Angel remembered all too well as the black and red velocibots stood at attention beside the smaller robot.

"Well its obvious those two on the sides are velocibots, but who's the one in the middle?" asked Tails as he looked the three robots over. A pair of snarls behind him caught his attention as he turned to look back at a sight that nearly scared him senseless. Both Slasher and Saber were hunched down, claws and teeth bared as their angry stares glared towards the group of robots.

"What is it?" asked Cody as he dropped down off Slasher's back, reaching up to help Lily get off.

"That's him. The one in the middle is the one who raided our home and took our clan hostage alongside of Leviathan," hissed Saber. All four mobians turned and looked at the middle robot. Cody was the first realize what it was they were looking at as his eyes widened slightly.

"No way...is that Knuckles!?" he said in disbelief. Tails and Lily both looked at each other with a questioning glance as Angel turned and looked back at Cody.

"That can't be true. The Guardian was killed years ago," she said before looking back at the crimson robot. "I only ever knew this robot as RK while he was my sparring partner for almost four years."

"Sparring partner?" asked Tails questioningly.

"Not now," said Angel, giving Tails a single shake of her head to indicate to drop the subject. She then started to walk slowly towards the trio of bots, looking relaxed yet keeping her guard up.

"What should we do?" asked Tails as he watched Angel start heading out towards the middle of the room.

"Follow, but don't instigate anything. Let them make the first move," said Slasher having finally gotten her initial rage back in check again. Saber was having a little harder time doing so, but once his eyes caught a glance of Slasher staring at him, he instantly calmed himself back down again. The four of them then started after Angel, keeping about ten steps behind her, but staying on guard just incase.

"My you are all so on edge," said the crimson robot, a smirk on his face as he watched the group begin approaching him and his escorts.

"And we shouldn't be because...?" asked Tails. The echidna robot only laughed lightly at the question.

"A good point. One can never be too cautious when dealing with their enemies," he said as his hands curled into fists. "Leviathan was already too careless with all his little sideshows. I don't plan on taking any chances with you like he did." Both of the velocibots screamed at them as if to further back up the robot's statement. The echidna robot waved his hand at them, causing them both to shy away slightly. "Patience my friends, you'll get your chance to kill them soon enough."

"So what's the plan?" whispered Cody, seeing the robot had turned its attention away from them for the moment.

"Saber and I can handle the velocibots," said Slasher. "It'll do us both some good to take a bite out of these toys for a change."

"What about the other one," asked Tails. Angel was reaching for her sword when Lily walked up past her, a fiery look behind the hedgehog's eyes causing the echidna to hesitate from completing the motion. Lily then reached up to the metal bar holding her brown hair up in its bun. With one solid yank, she pulled the bar from her hair, letting it flow to its full chest level length. A clicking sound emitted from the bar as both ends suddenly extended to several times their original size, causing the five inch bar to grow into a nearly five foot long staff. She twirled it around in her hand a few times before grasping it with her other, setting herself into a defensive stance with her weapon.

"I'll handle the other one. After what I've been through, I need to let off some steam," said Lily as she eyed the crimson robot, whose attention had shifted to the hedgehog the instant the staff had extended. She then felt a hand lightly grip her shoulder, causing her to turn her gaze back towards the person the hand belonged to.

"I think we both could stand to let off some steam. Besides, I need to break something of Leviathan's if for nothing else than to get rid of some of this aggression I've been keeping bottled up for the last hour or so," said Angel. Lily half closed her eyes as she gave the echidna a smirk.

"Sounds good to me. I think between the two of us this bot won't stand a chance," she said, returning her gaze back to the crimson robot as she heard Angel's sword being unsheathed behind her. Cody tapped Tails on the shoulder, catching his attention.

"I think you and I should try and get past them and get up to the command center so we can get the Timestone from there. I'd be willing to bet the one in the middle has the second one we're looking for," said Cody. Tails nodded, hoping that Cody wasn't underestimating their foes. The last thing he wanted was for the three robots to overpower his friends and then come after them. It was times like this he wished Sonic was around. He always knew what was best to do. But then again, he had to live life without Sonic for nearly a decade and so far he'd managed to do pretty well, Leviathan's trickery aside.

"Okay. Get ready to go as soon as they start fighting," whispered Tails as he curled his twin tails together in preparation to take off. Both of the girls walked up to within twenty yards of the three robots, both Slasher and Saber flanking them on either side.

"Before we get this little show on the road, tell me. Are there any other little secrets your master didn't want to let me in on? I have a right to know considering the fact that I know he was the one behind everything that has happened to me since Metal Sonic raided my home," asked Angel. The crimson robot chuckled slightly at the question.

"As far as I know, there are no more secrets to be told. At least pertaining to you anyways," said the robot. The robot crossed his arms over his chest. "Of course I can't say that without the possibility that Leviathan did not disclose information he deemed not worth my knowledge. He tends to keep things he sees as being important to himself."

"I have a question for you too, if you don't mind answering one more," asked Slasher. The robot echidna merely shrugged its shoulders. "Exactly who are you," she asked. "You're identical in appearance to the machine that helped Leviathan enslave our clan, yet I can tell by your scent that you are not the exact same machine." She narrowed her eyes as she took in another sniff of the robot's scent. "No...Your scent doesn't carry the stench of that polluted city near the Great Forest like it used to. A smell like that can't be fully erased from one's person after they've lived amongst it for any significant length of time. There's always a small trace of it left even years later that a species such as ours can pick it up with our olfactory senses even if the person no longer has any contact with the smell."

"Well, you are correct. I have never lived in Robotropolis. Visited it yes, but never lived there. That was my eldest brother's domain, even though he failed miserably at defending it," he said in disgust. "Why Leviathan bothered to create such inferior models of mecha bots when he knew they had flaws is beyond me, though I guess it would make them easier to control if he knew how to exploit their weaknesses."

"So if Silver Sonic is someone you refer to as a brother, then that makes you..." said Lily.

"A mecha bot," finished the robot. "Mecha bot four to be precise. But you may call me Robo Knuckles."

"How dare you use the Guardian's name for yourself," said Angel angrily, gripping the hilt of her sword tighter. Robo Knuckles only shrugged.

"Don't get mad at me, it wasn't my idea to name me this, though I couldn't really see myself going by another name since I was created to resemble the late echidna," he said.

"I see. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you were named what you are considering you look just like him. I suppose it figures that Leviathan would disgrace my people further by making a mockery of the most revered bloodline of our tribe," said Angel. "Still, that doesn't mean I can't wipe out that disgrace." Robo Knuckles merely smiled as he brandished his twin sets of dagger claws.

"Then by all means give it a shot. I haven't had a real fight in ages," he said sadistically, both of the velocibots crouching back on their hind legs, the red one spreading its wings out. Slasher followed suit, allowing her wings to unfold and spread to their full wing span as Saber lowered himself back on his own hind legs. Angel glanced over at Lily, who glanced back at the echidna, giving a quick nod. Angel then turned her gaze forward again, shooting from her spot so fast it actually caught even the two raptors off guard, Lily following close behind her as both Slasher and the red velocibot took to the air with a powerful flap of their wings a split second later. Twin screaming cries echoed throughout the massive room as both Saber and the black velocibot ran straight at each other, both zigzagging back and forth trying to get an accurate bead on the other for the best way to attack. As soon as all the combatants had started towards one another, both Tails and Cody had taken to the air, flying past all the action around them as they came to land next to the turbolift. The only person in the room that hadn't moved an inch was Robo Knuckles as he eagerly waited for the two female mobians to get to him.

Angel reached Robo Knuckles first, swiping right at his neck with her sword only to meet the middle of his left set of claws with a metallic clang. A split second later a second clang sounded as Lily tried to slam her staff down at Robo Knuckles head, only to meet the same fate as Angel's sword but from the other set of claws. Robo Knuckles only grinned as he eyed them with a look of glee on his face.

"Heh. Not bad," he said as he brushed both weapons away from him, both of the girls jumping away to take up defensive stances. "But, unfortunately for you, I'm in a league far above yourselves." Angel only smiled at the comment.

"You were always too full of yourself. It's quite a weakness and it's one that will ultimately lead to your defeat," she said. Robo Knuckles gleeful expression turned to one of annoyance at hearing Angel's words.

"I have no weakness fool," he spat before a faint whine started to emit from within his body, growing louder every second. He then slowly lifted off the ground as the turbine engine in his body began to propel him into the air. "Truth be told I was going to kill you quick and painlessly, but now I think I'd rather kill you both as slowly and as painfully as possible."

"I'd love to see you just try to do that," said Lily as she gripped her staff tighter.

"Gladly," he said, as he came to hover about ten feet off the ground. "But first I think we could use a little bit of a change in scenery. This massive flat area just wouldn't give this kind of fight much depth at all." With that, he snapped his metallic fingers. Suddenly, the whole floor began to shake, nearly throwing both of the girls to the ground. Saber and the black velocibot, who had settled into eyeing each other at a distance trying to judge the best way to strike at the other one, stopped their circling of each other to try and get their footing back. Even the two airborne raptors came to a halt as they both sensed the vibrations coming from the floor of the room. Large chunks of the floor began to separate from the floor, rising up to become pillars of different sizes ranging from the size of a average sized human to that of several stories tall buildings.

Just as the final piece of flooring snapped into place, the air started to waver as the raised flooring began to change its appearance into various objects. Some became various street-based objects such as street lights, stop lights, actual four lane streets with sidewalks adorning the sides of them. The other, taller pieces began to take on the shapes of various buildings. These ranged from simple single lot houses to full sized apartment or office buildings. As the final bit of the room finished its radical transformation, everyone but Angel, Robo Knuckles, and the two velocibots stared in awe at what had just transpired.

"Typical," was all Angel said as she resumed her stance. "You always have to try and make things so dramatic. It was one of the reasons I always hated sparring with you. What's the point of all these holograms anyways? They're just images projected on the stupid pieces of flooring, nothing more." Robo Knuckles only laughed at her response.

"That is where you are wrong my dear girl," he said as floated up next to one of the apartment building replicas' fire escapes. He then grasped the railing of the bottom platform, yanking off one of the bars. He then held it up, moving it around in his hand. "As you can see, it's as real as you or I. And if you need further proof, just feel the ground your standing on." Angel only scoffed at the mecha bot as she started to kneel to the ground.

"Cheap trick using the holo projectors to make it seem like-" she suddenly froze as her knee touched the ground as she started knelt. What should've been cold metal now felt like cool asphalt. "Impossible..." she whispered as she reached her hand down, feeling the ground with her bare hand. She could actually feel the small little pebbles of rock as well as a small bit of tar pressing back against her palm, sticking to her fur.

"It is amazing what five years can do for holographic technology, especially when Leviathan is the one behind its research," said Robo Knuckles as he dropped the piece of railing to the ground. A loud screech from behind and above the trio drew their attention to the sky above, the ceiling now resembling a cloudy gray overcast, as they saw Slasher and the red velocibot collide in midair, their claws flashing as they each tried to land a hit on the other. Their intense attacks at each other last only a handful of seconds before they split apart from each other, flying off in opposite directions to regain their bearings and find another chance to attack again. As the two raptors sped away from each other, Robo Knuckles turned his attention back to the two mobians. "Well, it seems the party started without us. Shall we?" he asked, putting a little bit of politeness behind his voice just to be annoying.

"Whenever you're ready," said Lily as Angel stood back up, retaking her stance as Lily followed suit.

*****************************************

Sonic tried desperately to shield his face from the large amount of dirt that had been kicked up in front of him after he had narrowly dodged another one of Leviathan's energy blasts. He actually wished that he had a second pair of hands to shield his ears from the annoying laughter that had been following him since he had taken off. Thanks to the chaos energy circulating through his body, Leviathan was now flying along after him, showing no real signs of having any difficulty keeping up with the cerulean hedgehog as he followed him a few hundred feet behind. Feeling the fur on the back of his neck stiffen slightly, Sonic quickly did a ninty degree turn to the left as another blast whizzed past along the same path he had just been running along and collided with a large tree, blowing away nearly all of the trunk where the blast hit it. The tree, unable to sustain its weight on what little of the trunk remained, fell to the forest floor with a resounding boom that echoed for nearly half a mile.

"You can't dodge me forever Sonic. You will eventually wear yourself out," called Leviathan as he quickly changed his own direction to realign himself with his prey. Sonic gave no verbal response as he kept running, dancing around trees and underbrush of all sizes. Leviathan, a little annoyed at being ignored, fired another shot from his mouth. Sonic leapt above this blast as it slammed into the ground right where he had been, landing on a large tree branch and bouncing off of it as quickly as he landed as he propelled himself far enough away from the blast radius to not be affected by it. As soon as his feet touched solid ground again he was off, a small smile fixated on his face. _That's right Levi. Just keep firing and use up all that energy you stole from me,_ thought Sonic as zigzagged through the next set of trees.

"This running is nothing but folly hedgehog. Even if you do manage to somehow get away from me and recover the three remaining Timestones, this world will still be mine. There is nothing you can do to change that even if you save your past self," said Leviathan. The rate of Sonic's stop was so abrupt that even the energized raptor couldn't help overshooting Sonic's stopping point. Leviathan then landed, turning around to face Sonic.

"What do you mean?" asked Sonic, his attention now fully on what Leviathan had just said. Inwardly Leviathan couldn't help but be amused by the aspect that he could inflict further emotional damage to Sonic.

"It's quite simple really. The two timelines are now completely separate of each other. They are acting independently of each other and have been for a while now," explained Leviathan. Sonic's eyes narrowed into a scowl.

"Which means...?" asked Sonic, a little annoyed at the raptor for not giving him the full information.

"It means, my little friend, that if by some miracle you kill me in the past before I changed the timeline, it would not matter for this timeline. It would continue to stay along the path that has been written for it. You and the princess would still be dead, and I would still be alive and in power," he explained. Sonic grabbed his head with both hands, his face contorted like it was in pain.

"Okay. I…_really_ hate it when you mecha bots talk all technical. Could you just say it in English please?" asked Sonic. Leviathan sighed, annoyed that he couldn't get his point across. Then he suddenly had a thought of why he even cared pass through his head. Of course the answer came just as fast. He wanted to see the look written on Sonic's face when he truly understood what it was he was explaining.

"It basically means that regardless of what you do, this timeline will play out as it has. And since you've forced me to take the measure of killing Mobius' populace because of your unexpected arrival in this timeline, I suppose you could say that it is _your_ fault that the people of this world will die. And because this world is separate from our original world, there is nothing you can do to help them once they are dead," said Leviathan, his lips curling up to show his fangs grinning at the blue hedgehog. This time the full force of what he was saying hit Sonic dead center, leaving him with a horrified look of shock. To Leviathan, the fact that he hadn't even had to lie to get this kind of reaction from the hedgehog was sweeter than anything he could've made up. "Well, now that I've answered your little question, what do you say we continue our little game?" But Sonic didn't move from his spot, his head looking down at the ground even as Leviathan began to charge up another blast in his mouth. This made Leviathan halt the attack, wondering why Sonic still remained planted in place. He gave Sonic a once over look, not noticing that Sonic's fists were shaking just slightly. It wasn't until Sonic's head rose up to stare back at Leviathan with the cold look a killer that he realized something about Sonic's demeanor had changed.

"If what you say is true..." whispered Sonic as his eyes stared like ice daggers at the robotic raptor. "Then I will no longer run from you anymore." At this comment, Leviathan couldn't help but laugh lightly.

"Oh really? And if I may ask, why are you not going to run away?" asked Leviathan.

"If I did I would be turning my back to everyone in this world, and I flat out refuse to do that. I'd rather stand and fight," said Sonic.

"You do realize, of course, that this will without a doubt destroy you? After all, there is no way you can possibly stand up to something that is far and away superior to anything else in existence on this planet," said Leviathan, rather amused by Sonic's sudden serious attitude. It was a stark contrast to his usual cocky, mouthy attitude.

"Perhaps, but then again…I just might surprise you," said Sonic. Leviathan had not realized he had lowered his guard till the moment Sonic's back flip kick landed solidly on his lower jaw, knocking his head back despite the fact that he was still powered by the stolen Super Emerald energy as a loud crack sounded throughout the air. Only then did he realize Sonic had literally used a micro burst of speed, going from zero to full speed in the blink of an eye, causing the sound barrier to give way instantly. He recalled seeing one or two videos way back during the first few months of his activation of Sonic displaying such an ability. It was something he could only do for a split second before he lost more than half his speed and had to build it back up again, but it was a great surprise maneuver. Despite the fact that the attack did no damage at all other than jar his head back, he still was furious at himself for letting his guard down for that split second.

As soon as Sonic's first kick landed with his left foot, he twirled himself around in midair as fast as he could, swinging his right foot at the side of Leviathan's head, solidly connecting with it which caused the raptor to be knocked off balance, stumbling away to Sonic's left a few steps as Leviathan tried to correct his imbalance. After hearing Leviathan's explanation of how he couldn't change anything that had already happened to this particular timeline, he realized that the mecha bot wasn't lying when he had said that it was because of him that Leviathan had put into motion the destruction of the planet's population. Now he just wanted to destroy this monster so that at the very least if the people had to die, they would die freeing the planet from the robotic tyrant's grip.

As Sonic landed, he jumped towards Leviathan, curling into a spindash to try and inflict some kind of damage even though he knew it would probably just be instantly repaired like before. But he wasn't going to stop trying. If there was one thing he knew about all of Robotnik's creations, it was that they always had _some_ kind of weakness. And he would find Leviathan's or die trying. Unfortunately, Leviathan was quicker on the rebound than even Sonic's legendary speed could have matched, swinging his large spiked tail like a bat and slamming the unspiked mid-section hard into the ball of whirling blue spines, knocking Sonic away so fast that it caused another instant sonic boom to sound. The impact sent Sonic flying backwards and crashing through several trees. As he broke through the sixth one, he finally fell to the ground, uncurling from his spindash and thanking his lucky stars that he'd had the foresight to not uncurl when he'd gotten hit. Otherwise he'd probably have killed himself just hitting the first tree instead of just being really sore and having the wind knocked out of him from being hit with Leviathan's tail.

"How dare you lay your unworthy feet upon my perfection you insignificant little rodent!?" shouted Leviathan as he slowly started to stomp his way towards Sonic, who was just beginning to recover. Still, this statement struck a nerve with Sonic. As he got to his feet, he couldn't help but make the observation that the longer Leviathan was being powered by the chaos energy he had stolen, the more detached he seemed to become from his usual calm and collective self. If anything, he was starting to become obsessive over how powerful he had become after absorbing all that energy. Even though Sonic knew that it might just add fuel to the fire, he decided that at this point it might be the only way to get Leviathan to make a mistake.

"Ha!" laughed Sonic as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Some mecha bot you are Levi. Even Mecha would've seen that attack coming a mile away and have countered it from the start. Yet you still let me get in a couple hits that were hard enough to throw even you off balance." He waited and watched to see what Leviathan's reaction to this was, hoping that his hunch was right.

"You..._You_...!" huffed Leviathan.

"Me what, Levi? Me, the one you just kicked you not once, but _twice_ in the face despite all your so-called power?" asked Sonic, lowering his head with a smirk plastered across his face. Leviathan could tolerate a lot of things, even being outsmarted and caught off-guard like he had been by Angel and Sonic respectively in the last ten minutes, but if there was one thing he couldn't take, it was being mocked. Normally, he might have at the very worst verbally attacked the offending person before putting it behind him, but in his chaos energy drunken state of mind, Sonic's mocking was inflated to the point it caused Leviathan to snap. Without saying another word, Leviathan shot another blast of energy from his mouth. _Heh. So he did snap, just like I hoped he would_, thought Sonic as he watched the robotic raptor launch his attack. Sonic then took off to the right, dodging the energy blast as it slammed into the ground behind him. _Now all I've got to do is get him to drain what's left of the emeralds' power out of his body and then I should be on an even playing field with him again_.

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"I wish we'd made it a point to bring Nicole up here with us instead of leaving her with the others," said Tails as he typed away at one of the command center's central computer keyboards, trying to break the pass code that kept the mainframe's security system online. Both he and Cody had managed to decrypt and de-activate the outer system's firewall, but that had been a fairly weak line of security designed to keep out only the most inexperienced hackers. The inner security, however, was far more complex. So far they'd only been able to hack through the first of the final two security measures, but the only programs that had been unlocked through that were simple ones, none of which were of any importance. However, the last piece of security was a firewall that required a ten digit pass code that randomized itself every ten seconds, making it all but impossible to crack it.

"I second that. This pass code's randomizing itself too fast to decrypt it without some kind of automated help," said Cody as he stood a few consoles down from Tails, typing away as fast as he could. "It figures Leviathan would just have to make one of the stones up here be the power supply for the whole base and make it only accessible to himself."

"Heh. It would, wouldn't it?" laughed Tails lightly. As he entered in the next command, an error message suddenly flashed across his screen before it reset the whole console back to its default settings again. Tails let out a cry of frustration as he slammed his fists into the console. "It's too darn fast. No mobian alive could possibly key in the information fast enough to beat out this randomizer system. You'd be lucky to get in more than five codes before it resets and even then the odds of you successfully hitting the right code are astronomical." Tails suddenly shot upright as an idea sprang into his head. "Hey!" he cried.

"What?" asked Cody, looking up from his own console as it began to flash the same error message that had reset Tails' console.

"Do you think it would be possible to hardwire yourself to the console and use your AI matrix to run the randomizations through the base's mainframe?" he asked. Cody rubbed his chin as he ran the thought through his head. While experience told him that he could hardwire himself to a console and access general information from it much like Nicole could do, he had never tried to use the AI matrix portion of his mind to attempt something as complex as decrypting a security system before. While he had no doubt the AI matrix could run through thousands of combinations before the ten seconds were up, at the same time he was worried about what the after-effects would entail. But even with the risks being completely unknown, he also knew that if they wanted to succeed, he'd have to go for it.

"It's worth a try. Help me get this cover off," said Cody as he knelt down to take off the console's front covering.

********************************************

Saber bounded away from the larger, metallic black velocibot as it snapped its jaws out at the young male raptor, narrowly missing the attack as he jumped back onto a rather large second floor balcony extending from one of the artificial buildings. So far all he had managed to do was dodge the velocibot, never finding any good time to attack it. This, in turn, was making him more and more frustrated the longer this went on. Still, he knew that if he snapped it would be over. _A calm mind and spirit will always defeat the violent body_, he thought, remembering well one of the fundamental rules of combat Slasher had taught him. The thought of his teacher and friend caused him to glance up into the sky where the winged raptor and red velocibot were still going at each other.

The red velocibot had several noticeable tears in its armor plating where Slasher had managed to land decent strikes with her clawed hands and feet. Unfortunately Slasher was showing signs of injury as well. Saber could plainly see several small cuts and one rather nasty looking gash just above her left shoulder blade where the velocibot had managed to sink its teeth into her for a brief second before she shook it loose. But despite the damage they had both sustained, neither of them was backing down as they flew into each other again, teeth and claws flashing like crazy for a couple of seconds before they split apart once again to resume their aerial circling of each other. Seeing Slasher's fiery spirit undaunted, even in the face of an opponent that seemed to be on par with her, was all Saber needed to see to calm his frustration and return his focus to the task at hand.

Eyeing the black velocibot as it hissed and snarled on the street below, Saber suddenly leapt off the balcony, forearms extended with his claws and teeth bared. The black velocibot, up to now having been completely on the offensive, was taken aback by its prey's sudden shift in strategy, barely able to bring its own forearms up to absorb most of the impact from the Saber's aggressive attack. Still, the force of the collision caused by Saber was enough to knock the velocibot off balance as it stumbled backwards trying to get its feet firmly planted again. Seeing that the velocibot was now wide open, Saber charged forward, lunging his head straight at the velocibot's neck with his jaws opened wide. However, the velocibot realized what Saber's intent was and instead of trying to correct its balance, it allowed itself to fall onto its back, causing Saber's lunge to go by harmlessly overhead. The velocibot then swept its tail across the concert, catching Saber's exposed legs and knocking them out from underneath him, causing him to join the velocibot on the ground as he fell face first into the asphalt. As the two of them recovered for one another's attacks, a trio of combatants was also engaged with each other a few buildings down and two blocks off to the left of where the two raptors were at.

A flash of a metal blade followed by a loud clang sounded throughout the immediate area as Robo Knuckles blocked another of Angel's sword strikes with his dagger claws, brushing her out of the way just in time to catch Lily's staff in the opposite pair of claws. Both girls had been relentless with their attacks. As soon as one finished their combination of attacks, the other one stepped up to the plate to continue with the assault. As it stood, Robo Knuckles had not so much as even had a chance to try to initiate his own attack against the two of them. While he knew he could easily fly up and out of their attack range so that he could regroup himself, he refused to swallow his pride by doing so. Instead he was cursing at himself for underestimating the combined strength of the two girls. _Figures that the two girls Leviathan decided to manipulate are amazons_, he thought.

He knew one-on-one he could take them easily. Angel had never been able to defeat him in any of their sparring matches, even when Leviathan had allowed her to use her sword, but her strength and skill with the weapon was a dangerous combination that had always kept him on his toes. And while the magenta hedgehog wasn't nearly as strong or as skilled as Angel was, her attacks came a lot faster due to the amount of them she could launch with her staff which made her just as dangerous. Robo Knuckles frustration was not lost on Angel. She had seen him get annoyed like he was getting now whenever she managed to even get so much as a little bit ahead of him during their sparring matches. Granted she'd never actually beaten him, but her best attempts at doing so came when his concentration was divided between the battle and his own frustration at being in a losing position. While she was confident that together she and Lily could beat him, she also wanted to take every advantage she could get.

"What's the matter, RK?" asked Angel as Robo Knuckles caught her latest sword swing. She continued to press down on the blade, forcing the mecha bot to bring his second set of claws up to reinforce his resistance against her. "Don't tell me...that two little girls...are more than you can handle..." she taunted as she strained to keep his arms pinned down. Robo Knuckles frowned angrily at the echidna as he summoned a burst of strength that allowed him to fling both of his arms out, knocking Angel's sword violently out of her hands and sending her falling head over heels to the pavement.

Now that he had a moment to collect himself, he was ready when Lily's staff came flying at him as he caught it with his bare hands this time, ripping it from her grasp with enough force to send her flying twenty feet away from him as he snapped the staff in half. As Angel heard the crack sound of Lily's staff being broken, she realized that pushing the mecha bot had been the wrong thing to do after all. Apparently the stupid thing had finally managed to keep its cool whenever provoked verbally. _Figures that Leviathan would condition him to finally overlook all those taunts I used to toss his way back in the day_, she thought to herself as she flipped back onto her feet. A quick glance at Lily showed her to be okay as she too got back to her own feet, though Angel could tell that without her weapon she had no real idea on how to defend herself. She had obviously relied on her staff far too much in the past for melee confrontations.

"You were saying, my dear echidna?" asked Robo Knuckles as he tossed the two halves of Lily's staff to the ground. It was clear he had completely regained his composure once again now that he had successfully managed to break apart the two mobians' string of relentless attacks at him. Angel couldn't help but feel cold beads of sweat being to form on her forehead as she analyzed their situation at the current moment. She knew her sword was probably just a few yards behind her, but at the same time she couldn't risk turning her back to him now that Lily was for all intensive purposes taken out of the fight and would be unable to cover her. And even if he didn't come after her, then he would go for Lily, which meant that she'd more than likely be dead before Angel could even get to her sword. But at the same time, she also knew that she stood almost no chance of beating him without her weapon. His twin sets of dagger claws were far too dangerous to try and stop with just her bare hands. And if he did decide to go after Lily first, she seriously doubted she could stop him without it.

"Hmm...Choices, choices..." said Robo Knuckles as his neon green pupils glanced back and forth between Lily to his left and Angel to his right. Without saying another word, he slowly flew up about five feet into the air and came to a hovering stop. Both girls tried to find some kind of indication as to which of them he was going to go after, but they couldn't see any evidence to give them an answer. Even the mecha bot's eyes had quit glancing at them and were now set dead in-between where the two of them were standing. Suddenly, Robo Knuckles shot towards the left with such speed that Lily didn't even have time to react as the crimson mecha bot jabbed his elbow hard into her chest, sending the magenta hedgehog sailing backwards only to slam back first into one of the holographic street lamps, her body falling limp to the ground as she lay there unconscious. "Too easy," muttered Robo Knuckles before turning back to face Angel.

"That was uncalled for," said Angel sternly, her face set in a scowl. "She was obviously no longer a threat to you." Robo Knuckles only smirked at the comment as he started walking towards the pink echidna.

"Perhaps, but I didn't want any interference while the two of us fight," he said as he came to a stop ten feet in front of Angel. "It's been a good five years since the last time you and I have faced off one-on-one. I want to be able to enjoy this." Angel returned the mecha bot's smirk.

"Figures you and that stupid overbearing pride of yours couldn't stand not going one more round with me," she said, glancing back towards where her sword lay on the ground a good thirty feet or so away from them, having been knocked quite a ways away from where they were after Robo Knuckles had deflected her attack earlier. "So then, you gonna let me get my weapon?"

"I'd like to make this as interesting as possible, so I'll have to say no," he answered.

"Somehow I figured you'd say that," she said, taking a proper fighting stance. Robo Knuckles followed suit, the two of them staring down the other, waiting to see which would make the first move. The seconds seemed to pass like an eternity for the two combatants as they continued to eye each other. Then Robo Knuckles leapt forward, slashing at Angel's head with his left set of dagger claws. Angel quickly ducked the attack before jumping forward herself, slamming her right elbow hard into the mecha bot, knocking him backwards and off-balance. Angel took his lack of balance to deliver a hard roundhouse kick to the left side of his metallic face, sending him flipping head over heels onto his back. "Not so much fun when you're the one eating pavement, is it?" she taunted as she reset her stance. Robo Knuckles only huffed as he flipped back onto his feet, resetting his own stance.

"Not bad, little one. It would seem you've managed to improve a little since the last time we fought," he said, his eyes narrowing as his hands curled into fists. "I suppose I'll actually have to take this seriously for once."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Various feral cries echoed off in the distance as the citizens of Knothole stood ready to defend not just their home, but their last bastion of hope from the invading horde of mechanical creatures that was about to descend upon the small village of mobians. Men of all ages and species stood shoulder to shoulder along the boarders of the village, armed with weapons ranging from laser rifles salvaged from Swatbot remains to crudely made wooden clubs. Several lookout posts had been hastily converted into gunning platforms, each one housing one of several large plasma cannons they had managed to steal from a convoy the previous year with a couple mobians manning each post. The women and children were all gathered in the community hut at the center of the village, waiting for the worst but hoping for the best. As the cries of the velocibots steadily grew in the distance, a lone badger stepped forward from the group till he was a good twenty feet out in front of the ranks before turning to face the other mobians.

"My friends, the day we have all been dreading has finally arrived," said Sam solemnly as his gaze looked over the various mobians, each one's face set in stone as they all knew the fate that was about to befall them. "However, we will not go down without a fight. We have fought Robotnik for years now and I know we won't just roll over and die just because we're facing impossible odds." Several mobians in the crowd shouted their agreement. "Now then," he said as he turned back towards the source of the noise, seeing the sunlight of the morning glinting off the metallic face of one of the vile robotic creatures as it steadily approached them, followed by countless more of the mechanical beasts. "Let's show them just how dangerous a cornered prey can be!"

The entire crowd let out a battle cry as the plasma cannons in the lookout posts opened fire as light blue energy burst from the treetops, slamming into the front lines of the velocibot force as the blasts destroyed or damaged several of the robots. Salvo after salvo of plasma fire rained down at the approaching forces, laser fire from the handheld laser rifles sending ruby bolts of energy into the approaching machines as they continued marching forward. At first it looked as though the firepower they were unleashing was holding the enemy back, but it soon became apparent to Sam that even with as many casualties as they were causing, the robotic raptors were slowly but steadily gaining ground on them. It would only be a matter of time now before they would get close enough to attack them. And not long after that, the battle would be lost. In hand-to-hand, they simply wouldn't stand any chance against the melee based velocibots. And yet, there was a part of Sam that refused to believe that this would be the end of them. They had come too far, sacrificed too much to lose now. He reached out with his heart and clutched onto the belief for all he was worth, never wanting to let it go even as his rational side told him it was pointless.

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_For crying out loud! How much energy did he actually steal from me!?_ thought Sonic as he bounded off the right side of a thick tree trunk, barely missing being hit by one of Leviathan's energy blasts. So far, he'd managed to stay a step ahead of Leviathan, but he was reaching the limits of his endurance. Destroying an entire defense grid, followed immediately by his scuffle with Angel before she knocked him out cold, and then taking on Leviathan shortly after having regained consciousness while also straining to keep his hyper form active during the first part of the fight was taking its toll on him. This fact was not lost on Leviathan. He could distinctly tell that Sonic's stamina was running low. That much was evident in the fact that his reaction time was slowly getting worse the longer he continued to run away like this.

Leviathan couldn't help but grin to himself. This latest dodge by Sonic showed him that the hedgehog's reaction time was finally insufficient to dodge two blasts if they were fired as fast as possible. He glanced up ahead of where Sonic was, calculating the most likely path he would take to avoid the next blast fired at him. A split second later, Leviathan launched another attack from his mouth. Down below, Sonic could feel the quills on his back stiffen as the ball of energy came flying at him. Quickly darting to the left, he never even saw the second blast coming as it slammed into the ground just a couple of feet in front of him, exploding with enough force to blow him a good twenty feet back and into the trunk of a giant tree. Sonic couldn't help but curse at having been thrown into a tree not once, not twice, but on three separate occasions in the same fight, even while he lay there paralyzed from the pain shooting throughout his whole body.

"You are far too predictable hedgehog," said Leviathan as he landed next to Sonic's stunned body, pressing a clawed foot down on Sonic's back. Sonic grunted as he felt Leviathan apply enough pressure on his back to pin him in place, turning his head up to glare in defiance at the raptor.

"Don't think that you've won this thing yet Levi," spat Sonic. Leviathan only chuckled as he pressed down harder with his foot, clenching his toes to cause the claws on the ends of them to dig into Sonic's back, causing the hedgehog to cry out in pain.

"I don't think I have, I know I have," said Leviathan as he continued to apply more pressure with his foot. "Checkmate, Sonic." Sonic felt like his back was on fire from the pain that was shooting up his spine from the pressure of Leviathan's foot pressing down on it. At this rate, he was sure that it would break in a few more seconds. As the pain continued to steadily grow worse, he couldn't help but feel as though he had let everyone down, especially Angel. He knew that with his death, her life would once again become wrapped around Leviathan's icy fingers. A loud, feral cry broke him from his train of thought as he felt the weight of Leviathan violently forced off his back. Though the pain still kept him rooted to the ground on his hands and knees, he was able to move his head around to see why the raptor had stopped his actions.

"What on Mobius!?" whispered Sonic as gazed at the sight before him. Standing between him and Leviathan was a weird looking raptor that was covered from its tail to shoulders in glimmering violet metal with metal tubes running through its body in some places. Its chest was still tan flesh, but had two thick tubes running through it. Attached near the end of the tail was a giant three pronged clamp. Two small sheets of two inch thick metal that resembled the wings of a plane jutted from its shoulder blades. Its right eye was a beautiful emerald green while its left eye was replaced by a glowing red optic sensor set in an eye patch-like piece of blue metal. Around its neck was a pendant with a violet gemstone set inside it.

"What is the meaning of this!?" snarled Leviathan as his clawed hands curled into fists.

"I am sorry that I let it come to this," said the violet armored raptor hoarsely as it looked over at Sonic as he slowly started to get to his feet. "I never should have stood idly by as this monster destroyed everything good about our world." The raptor then reached its clawed hands up to its neck, slipping the pendant over its head and tossing it in front of Sonic. "Inside that pendant is the Timestone I was assigned to protect. Please, use it to stop Leviathan before he changed this world into the nightmare that it has become."

"You are a fool if you think I'm going to let you get away with all of this," hissed Leviathan. The other raptor merely closed its good eye, the other one winking out as if it too had become closed.

"You are the fool Leviathan. You believe yourself to be above all other things in this world, that the people of this planet are things to amuse yourself with. Even I am nothing more than a product of your sick and twisted mind," said the raptor, keeping its tone of voice perfectly calm and collected. Leviathan, however, was anything but calm as his energy poisoned mind rapidly began to lose itself to his growing anger at this act of insubordination.

"I rescued you from the edge of the cold void, restored your body with my superior understanding of bio-organic technology, gave you a brand new purpose in this world, and _this_ is how you repay me!?" yelled Leviathan, his voice steadily growing louder as he rattled off to the violet armored raptor.

"Which is the only reason I ever obeyed you in the first place," said the raptor, its eyes still closed. "But when I saw a person from my old life and the way he reacted to what I had become, only then did I truly realize I had turned into every bit of a monster as you. And I refuse to be that monster anymore."

"Very well," said Leviathan softly as he closed his own eyes and glanced down at the ground slightly. "If this is the choice you want to make, then I will not stop you." He then looked back up, his eyes opening wide in anger as he shot from his spot at top speed towards the raptor. "But you will pay for your choice with your life!"

"Look out!" shouted Sonic as he tried to get back on his feet to help out the raptor. But what happened next caught Sonic completely off guard. At the very last second the raptor dodged to the side, swinging its tail around and catching Leviathan by the neck with the pronged clamp on the tip of its tail, slamming Leviathan into the ground as hard as it could. Only then did the raptor open its eyes again to stare down at Leviathan.

"Instinct always wins over emotion in a fight. Being a machine, you could never have known that, despite how much you believe yourself to know all there is to know," said the raptor softly.

"How dare you!?" shouted Leviathan as he struggled to get back to his feet. But the raptor held tight, managing to keep the mecha bot pinned by sheer force of willpower as Leviathan's chaos powered body began to fight to get back up. The raptor looked over at Sonic.

"Please leave this place immediately," it said as Sonic finally got back to his feet, picking up the pendant that was lying on the ground next to him.

"But what about you?" asked Sonic.

"Don't worry…about me. Now…go!" said the raptor as it strained to keep Leviathan pinned to the ground. Sonic started to move towards the raptor to try and help, but stopped the instant the raptor glared back at him with its good eye. Sonic slowly turned in the direction of the command tower. He then glanced back over his shoulder at the raptor, giving it a nod of both gratitude and understanding.

"Good luck," he said before he took off, rapidly fading out of view of the two combatants. The raptor's gaze continued to stare towards the direction Sonic had left in till a slowly growing fit of laughter from Leviathan caused it to turn its head back towards him.

"So you managed to buy him at most a minute of extra time to try and gather his allies together, assuming of course that they are still alive themselves. It still won't matter in the end. My armies are already at the doorsteps of all the remaining villages on Mobius. In a few minutes, the few possible strains of resistance will be crushed and this world will be under my full control till the end of time itself!" cried Leviathan. The mecha bot watched with a smug smile on his face, expecting to see the horrified look of despair work its way onto the raptor's face. But instead, the raptor merely smiled back at him, much to both his amazement and puzzlement.

"You forget…I've been at your side…for years now. And as such…I've had quite a bit of time…to observe you and learn…the secrets to your design," said the raptor as it struggled to keep the massive mecha bot under its control. It was only when the raptor said this that Leviathan noticed something he hadn't before now. One of the prongs of the clamp was pressed firmly against the gemstone set in his collar. And with the amount of pressure that was being applied to it from the clamp, small hairline cracks were beginning to form all along its surface. Leviathan's smug look instantly turned into the same horrified look he had expected to see on the raptor's face.

"No! You idiot!" shouted Leviathan as he redoubled his efforts to get free. But at the angle he was being pinned to the ground at, he couldn't get enough leverage to get back on his feet. And the chaos energy flowing through his body was of no use to him either, as he had specifically designed the armor of the raptor that was now pinning him to be immune to the negative effects of the emeralds' power. He couldn't even align himself for a shot of energy from his mouth such was the way his head was facing.

"It all ends here Leviathan," said the raptor as it applied even more pressure to its clamp, the hairline cracks on the gemstone growing more rapidly and the current ones already there widening every second.

"Stop this you fool! If you crush that gem, all of the chaos energy that's currently in my systems will be released all at once! The blast will be large enough to reduce this whole area to ashes! You'll kill us both!" shouted Leviathan.

"True…"said the raptor softly as it looked back towards the direction Sonic had taken off in. A brief image of Angel flashed through its mind, remembering the short conversation it had with the pink furred echidna. It then closed its eyes again. "But only one of us…will die with honor," it whispered before finally squeezing the clamp on its tail tip as hard as possible. Leviathan let out a feral cry of anger as he felt the clamp tighten on the gemstone, the cracks finally giving way as the gem shattered into dozens of shards.

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The air was filled with the smell of molten slag and burnt foliage as Sam watched the velocibot army continue to gain ground little by little against the barrage of firepower the villagers of Knothole were unleashing upon them. Already they had destroyed countless dozens of the beastly machines, but they seemed to have no end to their number. His gaze turned towards the makeshift gun towers, realizing that they wouldn't last much longer as smoke began to issue forth from the machines, evidence of their power cores overloading from the nonstop salvos they were unleashing. A quick glance at his own laser rifle's diagnostics told him that even their handheld firearms wouldn't last much longer either, their power cells all but drained from their continuous use.

"Blast it!" whispered Sam under his breath as he looked back up, firing off another shot from his rifle at a velocibot that was only a dozen or so yards away.

"We can't hold them off any more!" shouted an older tiger as he blasted a velocibot as it was rearing back on its legs to pounce, the robotic raptor instead falling onto its side as it twitched from the laser shot.

"Then we'll die trying!" shouted Sam. A small explosion behind him caused him to look back towards the lookout towers, his heart turning to ice as he saw one of the plasma weapons engulfed in flames as its power core had finally reached the breaking point and overheated. One after another, the other plasma weapons began to fail almost in rapid succession as each one's power core overheated, leaving the weapons as nothing more than molten flasks of metal. Sam cursed under his breath as he turned back towards the tide of velocibots that was bearing down on their small village. _I'm sorry Sonic…Tails…Lily…We tried our best, but there are just too many of them,_ he thought as the laser rifles also began to stop working one after the other.

As the laser fire subsided, the velocibots moved into rank and file positions. Every mobian stood their ground as the front velocibots reared back on their powerful legs, leaping forward to deliver the final blow to whoever was unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of their attack. But as the velocibots began to fall towards the group, Sam noticed something was wrong with them as their trajectory arc was carrying them short of the villagers. With several loud clangs, all of the velocibots that had charged forward landed in all sorts of awkward positions, each one unmoving as they lay on the ground, their eyes pitch black.

"Wh-what just happened?" asked a young hyena. Suddenly, a whole chorus of clanging noises echoed throughout the forest as the entire army of velocibots all fell onto their sides, each one completely deactivated. Sam stared wide eyed at the display before him, unwilling to believe he was seeing what he was seeing.

"I…I have no idea," was all he said in response.

*****************************************

Slasher let out a pained cry as she was slammed belly first into the roof of one of the larger building structures by the winged red velocibot, the robotic raptor landing with full force onto Slasher's back, causing her to let out an even louder cry of pain as she felt several ribs give way from the force her chest hit the cement surface with. A couple blocks down the holographic street, Saber finally succumbed to the black velocibot as it plowed him back first into the side of a brick walled building, the young raptor also letting out his own cry of pain as he fell to the sidewalk, unable to even move from the paralyzing pain that now coursed through his whole body from the blow. As Slasher heard her student and best friend's anguished cry, she tried desperately to get back to her feet, but before she could even attempt to will herself to move from the pain that was in her chest, a clawed foot came down on top of her head, pinning it in place as a snarl sounded from its owner and the long dagger claw on the foot lightly brushed the back of her scalp. It was then that Slasher knew it was over. They had lost.

"Do it…" was all she whispered. But the final blow never came. Suddenly, Slasher felt the weight of the robotic raptor literally fall off her as the velocibot tumbled onto its side, remaining unmoving as its eyes blinked a few times before completely fading out. Down below, the black velocibot suffered a similar fate as it too fell onto its side and remained unmoving as Saber slowly got back onto his feet before he wobbled and fell back to the sidewalk, his body unable to summon enough strength to stand. Slasher slowly got back to her own feet, a sharp pain shooting through her left shoulder area telling her that more than likely the bones connecting her left wing to her body had broken fairly close to the base when the velocibot had landed on her. She carefully moved to the edge of the building to gaze down at Saber. "You okay?" she hollered down at him.

"Dandy…" he answered, taking a second to regain a little more breath before he hollered back up at her. "How about you?"

"Been better," she said, gazing around as she tried to find some trace of Angel or Lily. In all the chaos caused by the fight, she had lost track of the two mobians and their opponent. Their scents were still in the air, that much she could tell, but she couldn't tell from which direction meaning she couldn't pinpoint where they were at. _Like either of us would be much help in our condition_, she thought to herself as she tried to listen for any subtle sounds to hone in on.

******************************************

Cody gave a slight grunt of annoyance as he stood next to the main control console inside the control room. Several wires were protruding out of his finger tips and were connected to the console, his eyes closed in concentration as the AI matrix half of his consciousness struggled to get a lock on the randomizing password as it cycled through all its combinations. But every time he would get within two symbols of getting the code locked in, it would randomize itself again, forcing him to start over.

"Any chance you could speed this up?" asked Tails as he kept an eye on the turbolift. Cody looked back over his shoulder with a glare.

"If you think you can do this any faster than I can, be my guest," he huffed before returning his attention to the task at hand. Tails glanced back at him with his own glare.

"Well no need to bite my-" was all he managed to say before a deafening blast sounded from outside, the force of it shattering the reinforced windows and spraying shards of glass all over the room as Tails barely ducked behind another console in time to avoid getting cut to ribbons by the flying shards. "What on Mobius was _that_!?" he cried as both of he and Cody stared out the broken windows at the massive ball of fire and lightning that had consumed the entire forest off in the distance. Slowly, the ball began to dissipate as the energy that was feeding it was burnt off.

"I have no idea, but whatever it is it's giving off one heck of an energy signature, though I think the worst of it is over," said Cody as he used his sensors to try and figure out what was causing the phenomenon. Suddenly, he heard a loud click sound in his head. He returned his attention to his previous task and discovered that his AI matrix had finally locked onto the code and was now in the process of undoing the final safety locks on the base's power core. As the final lock was released, however, the console shot a burst of electricity up the wires that was connecting Cody to the mainframe, zapping him hard enough to throw him a good ten feet back and onto the ground as he let out a cry of pain.

"Are you alright?" asked Tails as he ran over and knelt down next to the robian hedgehog. Cody slowly got up into a sitting position, holding his head with his left hand, which was smoking slightly from the burnt wires hanging off his finger tips.

"I think so. What a blast though," he said as Tails helped him back to his feet. "If that had been Nicole, I have a feeling you'd have been lucky to salvage anything from her."

"Sure looked like it was a powerful zap," said Tails. A sudden dark blue glow drew their attention towards the ceiling as a hole opened in the middle of it, a complex looking machine slowly descending from the hole. Nestled within the inner workings of the machine sat the indigo Timestone, several electrodes connected to it that ran along wires that connected directly to the machine. Tails started to raise his hand towards the gemstone before Cody stopped him, grasping onto the fox's wrist.

"Let me. If this thing's gonna spring any more traps, I'd rather be the one to get hit than you. Machinery tends to fair better than flesh does," he said.

"Good point," said Tails as Cody reached into the machine, grasping onto the Timestone. Carefully, he removed it from its housing, expecting to receive another power jolt like before. But nothing happened as he pulled the gem out of the machine to hold up before the two of them. All of a sudden, all the computer screens winked out as their power source was stripped from them, emergency lights springing to life as the base's backup generator kicked in.

"I guess that's our cue to go back and help out the others," said Cody as he tossed the gem over to Tails who stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans. Little did they know that the fight below them had already ended and that the sight they would find would forever be burned into their minds.

****************************************

Angel bit back a cry of pain as one of Robo Knuckles' dagger claws grazed her upper left arm as she tried to deflect a blow aimed at her chest, a small trail of blood beginning to drip from the fresh wound as she fell to her knees in pain. While she was still holding her own against the mechanized echidna, she knew she couldn't hold him off much longer. Already she had suffered several small cuts similar to the one she had just sustained on her arm from trying to deflect his attacks and they were beginning to take their toll as the pain from the wounds began to overpower the adrenalin that was coursing through her veins. The simple truth was that in order for her to deflect a killing blow, she had to hit his arms and not the claws, which jutted a good several inches out in front of his hands. This made it all but impossible to avoid getting grazed by them as she knocked his arms away.

"What's wrong, little girl?" asked Robo Knuckles as he sneered at her. "The game a little tougher than you thought it would be?" Angel only glared defiantly at the mecha bot, wanting nothing more than to rip his head off if only to shut up his incessant taunting. Slowly she stood back up on her feet, pushing down the pain she felt as she retook a defensive stance.

"Not a chance," she hissed. "I'm not about to lose to some fake echidna." Robo Knuckles only laughed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, I'll give you this. If nothing else you have been quite entertaining," he said as he took a fighting stance of his own, facing slightly off center of the two of them. "Unfortunately for you, my interest has grown weary." Angel's eyes narrowed slightly as she realized she had never seen him take such a stance before. Her eyes then shot open wide as she faintly heard a low humming sound emitting from in front of her, realizing all too late as to why he had taken the stance he had. Robo Knuckles' thrusters fired as he shot forward, slamming full force into the mobian with the side of his body and drilling her into the side of one of the holographic brick buildings. Angel tried to cry out as her body screamed in pain, but the wind had been completely knocked out of her, leaving only a small gasp to leave her mouth as she slumped down into a crumpled heap at the foot of the brick wall, Robo Knuckles watching with a smile set on his face from the street as he landed on the artificial concrete road.

"I hope now you understand that you could never have defeated me even on your best day. You forget, I've fought with you, trained you as per Leviathan's instructions to be the fighter you grew into," he said as his gleeful expressions turned sour. "To think that he would hold you in higher regard than me…" Angel slowly lifted herself into a sitting position by sheer force of will, her body unwilling to move any more than that as the pain from the blow she'd just received left her whole body tingling.

"If it makes any difference, I never wanted to be held in a high regard by that monster after I found out the truth," said Angel, her voice barely a whisper as she was just beginning to get her breath back. Robo Knuckles lifted off the street, rising slowly into the air as he glared down at the pink furred echidna.

"It doesn't," he said in a low tone, his thrusters firing as he flew straight at Angel, his clawed hands aimed right for her heart. Angel slammed her eyes shut, hearing the sound of metal against flesh, but strangely it was also accompanied by metal against metal. What was more, she didn't feel any new pain aside from what she was already experiencing. She quickly shot her eyes back open, only to gape in horror at the sight she saw.

"No…" she whispered as she gazed at the back of a brown vest, two jagged points of metal slightly jutting forth from the cloth as blood slowly dripped off their tips. "Lily!"

"Hey Angel…" the magenta furred hedgehog said hoarsely as she stood over the pink echidna. "I couldn't let you…have all the fun, could I?" she said with a faint laugh. Her breath caught in her throat as the laugh ended, her body falling limp to the floor as she dropped Angel's sword, now lodged right through the middle of Robo Knuckles' head as he too fell to the ground in a motionless heap. Despite the pain she was still feeling from being slammed into the wall, Angel got to her knees and crawled over next to the female hedgehog, leaning over her face.

"Why did you do that?" she whispered to Lily, grasping the hedgehog's hand in her own.

"People do crazy things…to save those that they care about. Besides, I owed you one…for what happened in the prison downstairs," said Lily softly as she looked up at Angel.

"You idiot…" whispered Angel, struggling to keep herself composed, but failing miserably at it as tears started to form in her eyes. "You didn't need to do this. It should've been me at the end of those claws. Me! You hear me!?" she shouted, tears now streaming down her face. Lily only smiled as she looked back up towards the overcast sky that was being projected by the room. She could feel herself starting to slip away, the amount of blood she was loosing already being past a critical amount.

"It's okay…I chose this path. Not you…not Leviathan…me," she whispered. "In the end, that's all that matters to me." She then looked back over at Angel, her smile widening even further. "I'm glad I got to know you…if even for just a little bit."

"So am I," said Angel as she felt Lily's breathing come to a stop, her hand going limp in the echidna's grasp. She gently placed Lily's hand back to the floor, gazing upon the magenta hedgehog, her face still having a hint of a smile to it even in death. "You were so much stronger than you gave yourself credit for," she whispered as she stood back up, most of the pain from being rammed into the brick wall now gone, only to be replaced by a much deeper hurting. A hurting she had not felt in years. "If Leviathan had given me the chance to regain what I had lost, I'm not so sure I'd have been able to stop myself." A series of metallic clangs echoing off in the distance drew her attention away from Lily, unsure how to explain what had happened to Cody and Tails as she saw the two of them approaching from down the simulated street.

*******************************************

Sonic's mind raced as he ran as fast as he could back towards Leviathan's base. Just what in the world had that creature been that had saved him? Obviously it was some kind of raptor, but it looked too organic to be a velocibot. And the fact that it had spoken also gave doubts to it being a totally mechanical creature. Sonic glanced down at the trinket he held in his left hand, the violet Timestone glowing softly from its resting place inside the pendant. Well, whatever was going on, it was obvious that the creature didn't want him anywhere near where the two of them were going to fight. As he burst forth from the edge of the woods, Sonic came to a screeching halt as a thought crossed his mind. _Comet's still in the forest!_ his mind shouted at him as he shot back into the foliage, calling out for the female chao. It only took a few seconds of searching to find where the little chao was hiding, but as soon as she had flown down into Sonic's arms, a deafening explosion erupted from near the center of the forest.

"What on Mobius!?" shouted Sonic as he looked back over his shoulder at the source of the sound, seeing a wall of fire and electricity sailing towards the two of them. A second deafening sound rang through the edge of the forest as Sonic blasted out of the forest at full speed, Comet taking shelter in his backpack to protect herself from the g-force caused by Sonic using his top speed. A split second after Sonic had exited the forest, the giant ball of chaos energy swallowed the very area they had just been. Sonic glanced back over his shoulder, seeing that the energy was coming to a stop after expanding only a few hundred meters out of the forest. He skidded to a stop, Comet's head poking out of his backpack. "What in the world caused that?" he asked.

"I know…" said Comet softly as she flew out of Sonic's backpack and stood on his shoulder. "A powerful surge of chaos energy was released all at once, resulting in the massive explosion you see before you."

"Could anything survive that kind of blast?" asked Sonic as the ball of fire and lightning slowly started to recede back towards its source. Comet shook her head.

"I do not see how anyone could," she answered. She thought about it for another couple of seconds before looking back up at Sonic. "At least…nothing mortal could." Sonic's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Then there's a chance Leviathan's still alive," he said. "But even if he is alive, I doubt he could pull himself together anytime real soon. I say we go check on the others and then go back and see if Levi bit the big one or not after that fireball dies out."

"I agree. I wish to make sure my mistress is still okay," said Comet. Sonic picked the chao off his shoulder and cupped her in his arms.

"I'm not so worried about her. She's a tough cookie. I'm more worried about everyone else," he said before he took off for the command tower, kicking up a cloud of dust in his wake.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"And that's what happened," said Angel softly, bowing her head as her eyes gazed off to the side, Comet standing on her opposite shoulder with a look of sadness on her face. Cody cradled Lily in his arms as Slasher tried to give him some form of comfort as she placed her hands on his shoulders. The robian seemed lost in his thoughts at the moment, his eyes just staring straight forward, unmoving. Tails was fighting back tears, finally having to turn away from the sight of his friend's lifeless body. Both Saber and Sonic stood off to the side, their faces both solemn as they listened to Angel's account of what had taken place.

"So…Is it finally over?" asked Saber, finally breaking the silence that had befallen the group.

"I think so," answered Sonic, taking the pendant with the violet Timestone set in it out of his backpack. "Whatever that creature was that saved me from Leviathan gave me this, which means that if that Robo Knuckles character has a Timestone on him as well, then all the stones are finally accounted for." He then put the pendant back into his pack, turning back towards the direction of the now destroyed forest. "However, I'm still going back to go make sure Leviathan is truly dead. The last thing I want to do is to just assume that blast killed him."

"That's a good idea," said Slasher as she looked over at Saber. "Why don't you go with him, just in case." Saber nodded, turning to follow after Sonic as he started walking towards where the turbolift was located.

"I'll go too," said Angel, taking a step forward before Slasher waved a clawed hand at her.

"No. It would be best if you stayed here for the moment," she said. Angel looked up at the raptor with a curious gaze.

"Why? What's the problem," asked the pink furred echidna. Slasher cocked her head back towards Saber and Sonic as the two of them rounded one of the street corners still being projected by the room's holographic displayers.

"If the faint scent on that pendant isn't my imagination, then it would be best if Saber is by himself for the moment," she answered. Angel glanced back towards where the two of them had disappeared for a second before giving a nod.

"Besides, we need to figure out what Leviathan did with Drake. He's the only one of us that isn't accounted for and I'll bet my two tails he's on this base somewhere being held captive like we were," said Tails.

"He isn't here," said Comet. All eyes turned towards the small violet chao. Even Cody's eyes finally moved from their frozen state to glance over at her.

"What do you mean 'he isn't here'?" asked Angel. Comet shied away from Angel, fluttering up into the air a few feet away from her.

"I apologize for not saying something sooner mistress, but I was asked not to say anything until this whole matter had been resolved," she said, looking away from group's gaze.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that's been taken care of from what Sonic described," said Tails. Silence fell over the group as Cody slowly stepped forward, coming face to face with Comet.

"If he isn't here, then where is he at?" asked Cody. His voice seemed distant, as if he wasn't really paying all that much attention to what was going on around him.

"You remember the mobian that brought me back to you in the forest?" asked Comet, looking down at Angel who nodded in response. "Drake is with him right now. The two of them told me that if we succeeded in our endeavor, he would return Drake not long afterwards."

"And if we had failed?" asked Slasher.

"If we had failed, then the two of them were going to attempt to finish what we started," she answered.

"I see," said Slasher, sighing slightly as she turned towards Cody. "Well, if that's the case, then I suppose we'll just have to trust this stranger at his word. Besides, if someone like Comet trusts this person, I do as well." Cody looked over at Slasher, his face still holding a passive kind of look to it.

"Then I suppose there's nothing else we can do but trust whoever this person is to bring him back to me," he said. He then turned back towards the direction of the turbolift that connected the current floor to the command center. "Come on, let's see if we can't find some mode of transportation off this rock."

********************************************

"Man…I really don't see how anything could've survived this," said Sonic as he and Saber walked through the few charred remains of the once lush forest. What hadn't been incinerated to ashes was burned so bad that it was impossible to tell what the original shape of the object had been. In the center of the forest was a crater that stretched nearly a mile wide and was dozens of feet deep, the epicenter showing where both Leviathan and the armored raptor had been fighting one another.

"I know," said Saber as he gave a few sniffs of the air, realizing that had been a bad idea as it threw him into a coughing fit from the amount of ash and smoke still hanging in the air.

"You okay?" asked Sonic, jumping over a charred fallen tree. Saber nodded as he gave a louder cough, finally clearing the crud from his lungs.

"So you said that this creature that saved you was a raptor of some kind?" asked Saber as they finally came to the lip of the crater.

"I think it was. Why do you ask?" said Sonic as he hopped into the crater, sliding down to the bottom. Saber followed as best he could, but not without a sharp pain shooting down his back from where the black velocibot had body checked him into the brick wall of the holographic building. The two of them started walking towards the center of the crater, which from their viewpoint was still smoldering somewhat.

"Was it covered in violet armor by any chance?" asked the raptor. Sonic came to stop, looking back at Saber.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" he asked.

"So it _was_ the same creature that attacked us in Robotropolis," he said softly, his eyes looking around frantically as if he was trying to pin down a million thoughts in his head all at once. "Can I please see that pendant again? The one that creature gave to you?"

"I guess," said Sonic, taking the pendant out of his pack and handing it to Saber. "Why? What's going on?" he asked. But Saber didn't reply as he held the pendant up to his nose, giving a small sniff. Immediately he began coughing again, unable to get a decent read of the pendant's scent. Sonic watched with both concern and interest as Saber brought the pendant up to his snout once more, giving another sniff. He had noticed a very faint scent earlier when Sonic had shown them the pendant, but at the time he had merely shrugged it off as being coincidence. Now, he was determined to know if he was imagining the scent of not. This time, the young raptor kept himself from coughing by sheer force of will, fighting back the burning in his lungs from the ash and smoke long enough to finally identify the faint scent that was on the pendant. He once again broke out into a coughing fit, but despite his lack of being able to breath he took off at a dead run towards the center of the crater. "Hey! What's wrong?" hollered Sonic as he took off after Saber.

_It can't be true…I refuse to believe it's true!_ shouted Saber's mind as he ran towards the crater's center, his lungs crying out for him to stop and allow them a moment to recover from all of his coughing, but his heart driving me forward despite the discomfort. As he finally came upon the charred center of the crater, he skidded to a stop, barely keeping his balance as his injuries from his previous fight all but caused him to collapse from the pain, his breath coming in short gasps as he tried to recover from his bout of coughing while running. Saber gazed at smoldering remains of two metallic figures, each one bearing a shape that resembled a raptor. Sonic ran up beside him a split second later, looking upon the remains as well. One of the two was twice the size of the other one, its silver coloring sporting several areas of black and orange on what would've been the underbelly of the shape.

"I guess it's safe to say Levi definitely bit the big one from that explosion," said Sonic, looking up at Saber. But the young raptor's gaze wasn't on the molten remains of the mecha bot, but rather they were on the smaller figure's remains. Its rich violet coloring from its armor was intact just as Leviathan's was, but unlike the synthetic skin that the mecha bot had, the other raptor's living tissue had been completely disintegrated, leaving only a charred image burned into the crater in the shape of a raptor's head. Slowly, Saber lowered his head down to the remains and gave a small sniff. What hit his nose caused his eyes to start tearing up, though not from the burning sensation of the air. Rather, it was from the fact that the remains still carried a very faint trace of the scent he feared he would find on this creature. "What's wrong?" asked Sonic, seeing the raptor looked back up with his eyes watering.

"I should have known…I thought there was something familiar about this creature when I first laid my eyes on it back in Robotropolis. The scent was there, I should have known!" he cried, turning away from the remains.

"Known what? What's going on? Who is that?" asked Sonic, not understanding what Saber was talking about. The young raptor glanced over at Sonic, trying his best to keep himself calm.

"The scent on the pendant, the scent on the creature…They aren't new to me. In fact, I know that scent as well as I do my own," he said, finally turning back towards the smoldering violet metal slag. "Leviathan truly possessed a sick mind to be able to turn her into such a thing…" The truth finally hit Sonic as his eyes opened wide in comprehension, his gaze turning towards his savior's remains.

"You don't mean…That was…" asked Sonic, unable to bring himself to ask the question.

"Yes…That creature…was this world's Slasher," said Saber softly. He then looked away, unable to look upon the remains of this world's version of his best friend. "How could she become such a monster? She's the most pure person I've ever known." Sonic sighed, placing a hand on the raptor's shoulder.

"I can't answer how she came to be the creature you saw in Robotropolis, but I can tell you this," said Sonic, putting his other hand on Saber's snout to bring his eyes to face his own. "Whatever it was that Leviathan did to her, in the end it didn't matter. In the end, she overcame whatever it was that had kept her true self bound and hidden. She gave her life to save not only mine, but everyone else that lives in this alternate version of our world. In the end, she was a hero." Saber stood in stunned silence as Sonic's words sank in, his head turning back towards the alternate Slasher's remains. But what he saw now wasn't the violent, killing machine he had seen in Robotropolis. Instead, he saw his best friend's final sacrifice to save the planet. And with that, he closed his eyes and bowed his head in respect. He held the bow for a good ten seconds, Sonic doing so along side him out of respect as well. Saber finally looked up, turning back towards the direction of the base.

"We should get back," said Saber as he started walking back the way they had came.

"Yeah," said Sonic as he turned and followed after him. "They're gonna want to know Levi's down and out." As they reached the edge of the crater, Saber stopped and turned his head back towards Sonic, who also stopped.

"Thanks…for what you said back there," said Saber. Sonic smiled slightly.

"All I said was the truth, nothing more," said Sonic.

******************************************

A mixture of emotions surrounded the air of Knothole later that day as news of what had transpired on Little Planet spread through the village. While everyone was overjoyed that the war was finally over, there was still a bitter taste to the victory from Lily's passing. Most were cooping with it by keeping themselves bottled up, while others reminisced about past times they had shared with the magenta furred hedgehog amongst themselves. Cody had retreated to his own little area up in a tree near the village's eastern entrance almost the instant the hover-unit they had used to return had touched down in the village. Since then he had been staring nonstop up at the sky, lost in his own thoughts. Sonic had intended on trying to coax him down till Angel advised him against it, saying it was best to leave him to his own thoughts. Sonic reluctantly agreed, knowing Angel would know more about what could be going through the robian's mind better than anyone.

Slasher and Saber were both getting checked over in the medical hut. Early word was that Saber would be fine after a good night's rest, but the same couldn't be said of Slasher who had two cracked ribs and a dislocated wing. It would take her at least a couple of weeks to be up to speed again. Still, she was at least happy she didn't have to be confined to a bed for that time period, having been given the okay to be up and about so long as she didn't do anything real strenuous to agitate the healing bones. As day turned into night, Sonic slowly walked up to the same tree that Cody had retreated to when they had gotten back. He gave a sigh as he looked up at his robian friend. It looked like he hadn't moved an inch since earlier that afternoon. As much as Sonic hated being the one to deliver the message to him, he knew he was the best one to give him the news.

"Hey Cody!" he called up to the metallic hedgehog, getting no response from him. He hollered up at Cody again, louder this time. A scowl crossed Sonic's brow as he still got no reaction from the robian. _Fine, you want to play hardball,_ thought Sonic as he picked up a small stone from the ground, hurling it at Cody. Without even turning his head, Cody's hand shot out and snagged the stone just before it hit his head. With an annoyed groan, he glanced down at Sonic.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I thought you'd like to know that they're about to cremate Lily in the middle of the village. All the villagers are gathering to pay their last respects," answered Sonic. Cody continued to stare down at Sonic for several seconds, his yellow glowing eyes casting an eerie glow back at the blue hedgehog. Sonic then heard Cody give a long sigh before slowly getting to his feet on the branch he had been sitting on. He then jumped down, using his thrusters to softly land next to Sonic. Sonic could tell just by looking at him that the last several hours had not been good to him in the least. The normally upbeat robian looked as though someone had taken him and thrown him in a dryer on spin cycle. His head was hanging low, his shoulders were slumped. Even his normally bright eyes seemed somewhat dimmer than normal. Sonic placed a hand on Cody's shoulder, drawing his gaze up to his own. "Hey…You gonna be alright?" Cody didn't say anything for a couple seconds, but then gave a soft smile as he brushed Sonic's hand away.

"Yeah…I'll be fine," he said as he started walking towards the center of the village, Sonic tagging along beside him. "I just…I never even considered what I would feel like if I lost her."

"You do realize that she's a different Lily than the one who you know, right?" asked Sonic. Cody shook his head softly as they continued walking.

"That's just it. I've been trying to tell myself that very thing since we got back to Knothole. But…I don't know…" he said, stuttering to find the right words. He stopped and looked back at Sonic. "I still feel like I lost a part of myself when I saw her laying there lifeless on that holographic street." Sonic nodded slightly, remembering his own thoughts that had gone through his mind when he had discovered that this world's Sally had long been dead.

"Trust me, I know how you feel," said Sonic. "Still, we must press on. If we don't, then her sacrifice will be for nothing." Cody slowly nodded, facing forward again as the two continued walking the rest of the way in silence. As they came upon the pyre that had been erected in the center of the village, both of them were a little awestruck by just how many of the villagers had shown up to pay their last respects. Sonic could see both Saber and Slasher watching from the far side of the crowd, glad that the two of them had been able to watch. Even Angel was watching from a spot up in a nearby tree, Comet sitting on the branch next to her. Sam the badger stood next to the pyre, dressed in a white robe. Tails stood next to him, dressed similarly while holding a lit torch. As the last of the villagers finally settled in, Sam motioned towards the pyre. In the center lay Lily, her body clothed in the best silks and threads that the villagers had to spare. A small gesture from those that knew they could never repay the female hedgehog for her actions that helped put an end to the war at long last.

"Dearest friends," said Sam as he turned his attention to the crowd. "Today, we honor and pay our final respects to Lily Griffor. A courageous woman who, by her own sheer will, held our village together during the worst of times." At this, he turned and looked at pyre. "She was a great friend to everyone here, some more so than others. She was a great leader to all of us as well. Never once did she falter when things looked to be beyond hope." Several murmurs of agreement could be heard from the crowd. "And even in the hour of our greatest despair, she laid down her life to spare another's. A person who she had only met days before. It takes a person of true character…to make such a sacrifice." As Sam finished speaking, Sonic noticed out of the corner of his eye Angel stand up and jump down out of the tree she was in, Comet following her. He was a little surprised Angel would leave in the middle of such an event, but he shrugged it off as he returned his attention to Sam.

"And so, we wish you a safe passage so that your soul may join once again with those of past friends and family and that you may find eternal happiness in the afterlife," said Sam. With that, he nodded towards Tails, who then lit the pyre with the torch, the wooden structure going up in flames quite quickly. The entire crowd bowed their heads as the flames engulfed Lily's body, Cody turning his head away slightly, unable to watch. After almost a minute, Sam raised his head again, as did the rest of the crowd. "Thank you all for your kindness and support. May her spirit live on in our hearts for years to come." Everyone gathered let out a word or two of agreement before they started to disperse. Sonic turned to look at Cody, who was trying his best to hold himself in check.

"You sure you're gonna be okay?" asked Sonic. Cody just shook his head.

"I'll be honest…I'm not really sure," answered Cody. Sonic thought about staying to help comfort the robian in his time of need, but something was nagging at the back of his mind. _Why did Angel leave like that?_ He looked up and motioned for Slasher and Saber to come over to them. The two raptors waded their way through the crowd to the two hedgehogs.

"What's up?" asked Saber, noticing the slowly growing worried look on Sonic's face.

"I'm not sure. Can you tell me which direction Angel's in? I think something might be wrong," asked Sonic. Slasher gave the air a couple of sniffs as Cody gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" asked Cody. Sonic just shook his head.

"I'm not sure. Call it a hunch," he answered. Slasher looked up, pointing with a clawed hand towards the west side of the village.

"She's in that direction," said Slasher. A look of dread suddenly crossed over Sonic's face.

"What is it? What's wrong!?" asked Cody. Sonic didn't even answer as he shot from his spot, scaring all of the villagers as a sonic boom sounded in his wake. _Please don't be doing what I think you're doing Angel!_ screamed Sonic's mind as he raced towards Tails' hut. As the small hut came into view, a flash of white light burst forth from structure. _Aw crud!_ And with that, Sonic sped up even more, arriving at the hut just in time to be swallowed by the light.

******************************************

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do mistress?" asked Comet as she hovered above the six Timestones that had been set out on the floor of the hut in a perfect circle. Angel stood in the middle of the circle, holding the indigo stone. It hadn't taken her long to set up the stones, considering that they had all been kept in this very hut. Her face carried with it the look of guilt and sadness. Still, as she stood there holding the glowing blue stone, she knew that Comet's question had been a valid one. Was this really the right thing to do? Angel wasn't sure it was, but she also knew that she had to at least try. Not to mention the fact that she now had the death of another on her conscious. Lily shouldn't have saved her. Angel knew she was nothing more than a lost thought to this world. The last of a dead race of mobians that for all intensive purposes should've died out ten years ago. But Lily had been someone important to hundreds of people, a person with great meaning. And now, because of her, Lily was dead.

"Maybe it's not, but I still have to try," said Angel, gripping the stone even tighter. Comet nodded softly, landing on Angel's shoulder before wrapping her stubby arms around the echidna's neck.

"Please be careful," she whispered. Angel raised a hand up to the small violet chao, placing it on her head and giving her a small hug back.

"I promise I will," she said. Comet broke the embrace, flying towards the window. She came to a stop for brief second for what might be the last look she got of her best friend before she turned and flew out the window, up away from the hut. Angel watched her depart before she turned her attention to the seven stones glowing softly at her feet and in her hands. She closed her eyes tightly, her mind formulating a date in her head. Slowly she began to repeat that date in her mind, a place and exact time beginning to form and then repeat alongside the date. Slowly, the six Timestones that were on the floor began to rise up, their glow beginning to grow by the second as Angel tapped into their power. As she repeated the full date, location, and time a fifth time in her mind, the stones all flashed a bright white, their light enshrouding the female echidna. Just before her mind blanked out, she could have sworn she heard a crack of thunder in the distance. Then, everything went black.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

The sounds of exotic wildlife and the smell of dozens of various tropical flowers greeted Sonic as he slowly opened his eyes, finding himself sprawled out on the ground. Remembering what had happened just before he had passed out, he quickly leapt to his feet, his eyes taking in the new sight before him. Gone was the village of Knothole, replaced by a vast tropical jungle that he could only guess as to its size. The moonlight from the twin moons above provided him with a little bit of light to see by, but it didn't matter. All he knew was he was lost, perhaps even more so than just by where he was on Mobius now.

**************************************

Angel groaned as she slowly sat up into a sitting position, placing a hand to her head to ease the dizziness she felt. Opening her eyes, she realized instantly that something was very wrong.

"No…This isn't right…It shouldn't be night already," she said to herself as she quickly got to her feet. Spying the Timestones that were now lying all around her, she knew she was where she was supposed to be, but the fact that it was night and not morning meant something had gone wrong with her trip through time. She had thought of the exact place and time as the stones had been reacting to her. But what could have thrown it off? Then it hit her. She hadn't specified whether the time of day was "am" or "pm". Instead of 9 o'clock in the morning, it was 9 o'clock in the evening. _But if I'm here on the same day I wished to come back to and it's already night, then that means...No! _she thought as her stomach tightened, a feeling of icy dread coursing through her body. An explosion sounding a fair distance behind her confirmed her worst fear as she looked back in the direction of the noise.

"No! Not again!" she cried as she sprang to her feet, running as fast as she could towards the source of the explosion.

***************************************

Screams of fear and cries of pain echoed throughout a small village of echidnas as they ran for their lives from the creature that silently stalked them one by one. But the creature would let none escape the deadly gaze of its blood red eyes, its thirst for death never quenched as it approached a hut where a middle-aged violet echidna was standing outside with a broom in her hands, ready to protect her two children that were hiding inside even if it cost her life. The creature came to a stop for a second upon seeing the sight, wondering why people always tried to foolishly oppose its power. Without a second thought, the creature raised its left hand towards the hut. A small hum emitted from its hand for a couple of seconds before a blast of energy flew from its metallic fingertips, slamming into the hut and blowing it to pieces, instantly killing the two children inside and throwing the mother to the ground in front of the creature. The mother looked up at the creature, anger and sorrow etched onto her face as it placed its foot at the side of her neck.

"You monster…" she whispered. The creature merely cocked a smile at the broken echidna, pressing down with its full weight as a crack sounded from the echidna's neck, her now lifeless body going limp. Looking up from its work, it spied another pair of echidnas making a break for it near the other end of the village. It hesitated at this point, its tracking radar informing it that the area was about to get a lot more crowded.

"One more for the road. Then Leviathan can finish the rest just like he always does when he shows himself," said Metal Sonic to himself as he floated off the ground, flying as silently as his engines would allow towards the pair as they vanished behind a hut.

***************************************

"What's going on mommy?" asked a young pink furred echidna, looking up at the older white furred echidna that was holding tightly to her left hand with a frightened look on her face. Riding on the younger echidna's shoulder was a small violet chao, its golden wings folded against itself as it held onto her neck with its stubby arms.

"I wish I knew," said the older echidna as she glanced out from behind the hut, looking back and forth as she tried to make sure that the coast was clear. As it stood, she had no real clue what it was she was trying to lead them away from. All she knew was that whatever it was, it was definitely not friendly. How she'd give anything if her husband was here now. He was always better at handling a crisis than she was. Deciding that they were safe for the moment, she led the younger echidna out from behind the hut. But as the two of them were about to pass by a second hut, they abruptly came to a stop as a metallic blue figure with blood red eyes hovered out from behind the hut. The older echidna immediately threw herself in front of the younger echidna and her chao, throwing out her arms in a shielding gesture.

Without so much as a sound, Metal Sonic quickly snatched the white echidna by the brown robe she was wearing and slammed her against the hut. The younger echidna watched with wide eyes as the blue robot raised his other clawed hand back and brought it forward, piercing through the white echidna's chest, her body going limp as blood trickled down the robot's metallic arm. The pink echidna was paralyzed by what she had just witnessed, too frightened to move or even scream, despite the look of pure fear on her face. The robot glanced over at the young girl, turning towards her as the small chao assumed the same kind of position that the now deceased mother had.

But before Metal Sonic could even take a step towards the young pair, a loud scream sounded from off to the side of them. The mecha bot turned towards the source of the yell to see a red furred male echidna come charging at him, a double-edged long sword gripped in his hands. Metal Sonic only turned to face the new attacker, not moving an inch as the echidna brought the sword swinging down at his head. At the last possible moment, the robotic hedgehog dodged to the side, quickly getting behind the male echidna before he had a chance to react. Without a sound, he drove the same clawed hand that had killed the female echidna through the back of the male echidna's head, instantly killing him as well.

_That will do_, thought Metal Sonic to himself as his AI matrix alerted him to Leviathan's arrival on the outskirts of the village. Already velocibots were surrounding the area, getting ready to cut off any retreat from the doomed village. Turning away from the bloody scene, he started to walk swiftly towards the opposite end of the village. Just a few yards behind him, the young girl echidna slowly came back out of her shocked state of mind, only instead the look of fear was now replaced by one of anger and pain. The small chao noticed this change of emotions on her face, suddenly realizing what was about to happen.

"No! Please don't do this mistress! He'll kill you too! We must escape now while he is not looking!" begged the small chao. But the young echidna paid her friend no heed as she let out an inhuman cry of pain, rushing towards the mecha bot as she picked up the sword from next to the male echidna. Metal Sonic turned back as he heard the unnatural cry from behind him, half expecting to see a velocibot. But instead, the sight of a child armed with a sword greeted his gaze. _How foolish_, he thought as the young echidna brought the sword swinging towards his mid-section.

But the blow never landed as the mecha bot caught the blade in his hand, instantly stopping it. He then curled his other clawed hand into a fist, smashing it onto the top of the young girl's head, instantly knocking her unconscious as she crumpled to the ground. He debated leaving her for Leviathan's troops to finish off, but the fact that someone as young as her had the gall to attack him was not something he was about to tolerate. But as he pulled back his claws to deliver the death blow, something furry grasped onto his wrist. Turning his head back, he came face to face with another pink furred echidna, only this one was easily in her late teens.

"I don't think so," hissed Angel, yanking Metal Sonic up and flinging him over her head into ground, stunning the mecha bot. She then proceeded to swing him around in a circle, rapidly gaining momentum. After the eighth rotation, she released her grip on his wrist, sending him flying over a good hundred yards towards the other end of the village. A few seconds later a familiar angry cry could be heard coming from the direction she had thrown Metal Sonic in. "So he is here, just as he said he was," she said to herself as she reached for her sword, intent on stopping the massacre before it was finished. But before she could even begin to withdraw her sword, she was plucked from her spot along with the young echidna and the chao by some unseen force.

****************************************

Leviathan surveyed the small village that he and his elite team of two dozen velocibots had now come across in their search for the renegade Metal Sonic. It had now been nearly three weeks since the mecha bot had gone rogue, destroying any source of civilization he had come across. While Leviathan had been curious to see if Metal Sonic would stop of his own accord, he lost his patience after a week had gone by. Now he and his best velocibots were hunting the blue robot, determined to bring him back under his control. However, each time they managed to close in on him, he would always manage to slip past them. But this time would be different.

"Seal off the area. I want no survivors," said Leviathan, the velocibots all giving a nod before taking off in different directions. "So…Is he still here?" asked Leviathan as a violet armored raptor slowly walked up behind him.

"I believe he is, but I can't be sure. His scent is still in the air, though tracking a robot by scent isn't exactly easy," answered the raptor in a hoarse whisper.

"Nor is cleaning up after the messes he makes," mumbled Leviathan as he closed his eyes, his AI matrix linking up with the synaptic receptors inside the other velocibots, allowing him to view what they were seeing. Already the robotic raptors had managed to corral most of the villagers into an enclosed area. A few stragglers were still being hunted down, but the real prize still hadn't been located. He was about to give up when one of the velocibots signaled a priority message to its master.

Leviathan switched interfaces over to the velocibot that had triggered the message, his vision taking in the sight that the other robot was viewing. Metal Sonic was walking away from a pair of dead echidnas, apparently getting ready to leave the area before he could be caught. Suddenly, a small child came running towards the mecha bot, a large sword drawn back to attack the robotic hedgehog. Metal Sonic turned and stopped the child's advance, effortlessly knocking the child unconscious. But this surprise paled in comparison to what Leviathan witnessed next through the velocibot's gaze as a teenage echidna that looked remarkably similar to the child stopped Metal Sonic from finishing his kill. By the time the echidna had sent the mecha bot flying, Leviathan had realized what it was he was seeing.

_So…It would appear that I was careless in the future to let this young girl gather the Timestones. Still…This could work to my advantage, _he thought. He was just about to order the velocibot watching the fight to attack to gauge how she would react to seeing the dinosaur robot to confirm his suspicion when something slammed into the side of his head. Letting out a loud snarl, Leviathan whipped around and snagged the object in his jaws, clamping down hard before flinging the thing to the ground and slamming a clawed foot down hard on top of it, crushing the thing's body. Only after he had practically torn the object limb from limb did he realize that sitting under his foot was a now nearly destroyed Metal Sonic, his body torn asunder from Leviathan's retaliatory attack.

_Serves you right I suppose for all the trouble you've given me_, he thought to himself as he restored his connection with the velocibot. But when he'd completed the link-up, the only sight that greeted him this time was just that of the burning landscape. Both of the echidnas were gone, as was the little chao that he had seen off in the velocibot's peripheral vision. _Where the heck did they disappear to?_ he asked himself. As the velocibot scanned the immediate area, Leviathan was growing ever annoyed with himself that he had neglected something as simple as recording devices inside the velocibots' eyes. In fact, it didn't just annoy him, but he was downright angry at himself for overlooking something so simple. If he'd done it before now, he would have video evidence of what the velocibot had seen, and since he'd been the one in control of it at the time, the velocibot wouldn't recall anything that it had witnessed.

"Something wrong?" asked the violet armored raptor, noticing that its master seemed a little miffed.

"Not a thing," huffed Leviathan angrily, roughly kicking Metal Sonic a few yards out from underneath him before turning and walking back the way the task force had come from. "Finish off the rest of the village and find those that escaped. But if you happen upon a young girl with pink fur and white bands in her dreadlocks wearing a green shirt and shorts, leave her be. I have my own plans for her."

"As you wish, Leviathan," said the violet armored raptor, turning to gaze at the burning village as cries rang out from within its depths, testaments to those that had met their ends at the hands of Leviathan's forces.

*************************************

A mighty gust of wind followed by a blindingly fast blur was all Angel remembered before she was dropped on her behind, once again in the same clearing she had arrived in only minutes before as evident by the seven Timestones still lying on the ground around her. But how had she gotten back here?

"I can't believe you'd do something so reckless!" cried Sonic's voice from behind her, turning to see the blue hedgehog staring back at her with an angry glare. In his other arm he carried her younger self, still out cold from Metal Sonic's attack. And from his backpack, a small purple head poked its way out, revealing the younger version of Comet. "And Sal always used to say _I_ was reckless, but _this_ easily tops anything I've ever done!" That's when Angel realized that it must have been Sonic that had taken them away from the village so fast. But instead of being grateful for getting them out of harm's way, she was furious.

"You idiot!" she shouted, jumping up to her feet. She ran at Sonic with her fist raised back to slug him. But Sonic was ready, quickly dodging her punch and sweeping his left leg underneath her as she passed by, tripping her as she fell face first into the jungle floor.

"Idiot? I think you're the only idiot here. Just what the heck were you thinking doing something as stupidly reckless as this?" he asked as she slowly got back to her feet again.

"Reckless? You call trying to save my village…my family reckless!?" she shouted as she ran at him again. This time Sonic didn't dodge her attack, but instead used his speed to grasp the wrist of the arm she swung at him with, quickly dashing around behind her to put her into an arm hold.

"Look! I can understand you trying to save everyone you cared about, but you have to face the facts! They're gone!" he said. Angel stopped struggling to get loose at hearing this, turning her head back to look Sonic in the face. "I know it's not something you want to accept, but you can't change that which has happened."

"But what about you? Isn't that exactly what you're trying to do?" she asked him with a glare.

"No. What my friends and I are trying to do is restore history to what it was. We don't wish to change anything about how our lives have played out. To do so would jeopardize the existence of everything we know to be true," he explained. Suddenly a look of despair crossed over Angel's face as what Sonic had said suddenly sank in.

"If I had managed to warn the village of Leviathan's coming, I might have been able to save everyone, but…but at what price?" she asked herself out loud.

"Exactly…at what price?" repeated Sonic. "Even if the others were to remain safe, then there's no telling if Leviathan would've eventually ran across them or not. And here's something else to consider. If your home hadn't been destroyed and Leviathan had never taken you under his wing like he had, then we never would've met. And correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it because of you that we were able to defeat Leviathan in the future." She looked back at him with a look of disbelief.

"How do you figure that one?" she asked.

"You were the wild card. Leviathan thought he had everything completely under his control, but he hadn't counted on you being able to slip out of his claws like you did. It was that mistake that he made believing he had you under his clawed thumb that ultimately led to his death," he answered. Angel looked forward, taking in everything that Sonic had just said. It was true…All of it. Even if she didn't want to believe it, it was undeniable. Finally calming back down, she looked back at Sonic, who released his grip on her. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

"I don't know…My heart was set on changing this day so much when I learned about what the Timestones did…I never even considered what I was doing until now," she whispered.

"I know. The temptation to save others you care for is a powerful thing, sometimes even more than knowing what is right and what is wrong," said Sonic. A small cough caught both their attentions as Comet flew out from Sonic's backpack, coming to a hover between the two of them.

"Excuse my interruption, but may I inquire as to what exactly the two of you are talking about?" asked the small chao. Angel chuckled slightly at Comet's question.

"You always were the polite one, weren't you?" said Angel softly. Comet suddenly froze, slowly turning her head towards Angel as if she were looking at a ghost. She stared intently for a few seconds before she fully turned to face the echidna.

"M-Mistress?" she asked hesitantly. Angel merely nodded. "B-But how…I mean…You're there and…"

"Shhh…It's okay Comet. We'll explain everything to you," said Angel. And so they told the young chao of everything they could, explaining why Angel had come to the village and what it was the two had been arguing about prior to Comet's interruption while leaving out everything else that they could that pertained to the of future events that were still to unfold.

So…What happens if you do manage to fix the timeline?" asked Comet. Sonic merely shrugged his shoulders.

"If all goes right, then the events of this world won't play out in my world. But even if we fix the timeline, something I was told makes me think that it won't matter much for what has already happened in this one," he said, sorrow filling his voice in the last half of his statement.

"So then…Mistress' parents…"asked Comet.

"I'm afraid so," he answered. Comet glanced over at the sleeping form of the younger Angel lying near the fire that had been built a little while ago.

"She's going to be devastated," said Comet. Angel merely huffed, causing the chao to look up at her.

"Trust me, that's an understatement," said Angel. She then looked back at her younger self, wishing she could soften the pain that the young girl would know when she woke the next morning. But she knew she couldn't. To do anything more in the past would put the future that she knew in danger of existence, and as grim as things looked in the near future, she knew in the end it would all work out. She then looked back at Comet. "Just remember that no matter what happens to always stay by her side, even if you don't agree with her actions. She's going to need a lot of support, and you're the only one left to give it to her. I won't lie when I tell you there will be dark times ahead for the two of you, but stay strong, cause no matter how dark it may look, there is light at the end of the tunnel. And when you've reached that light, you'll know." Comet nodded, looking up at the older Angel.

"Thank you. I will take your words to heart and never leave my mistress' side," said Comet.

"You also can never tell her what happened after that robot knocked her out. Nothing about me, Sonic, or anything else that has been said," said Angel.

"But why can't I-" asked Comet before Angel cut her off.

"Promise me Comet. Only when she tells you herself that she knows can you ever say a word about what has happened," said Angel. Comet looked over at the sleeping girl, then back up at the older Angel before giving a soft nod.

"I promise," she said softly.

"Thank you. Trust me, everything will be all right in the end," said Angel. The next five minutes went by in silence as the three of them sat around the fire, Sonic poking at it with a long stick he'd found a few times before looking over at the younger Angel asleep next to him.

"So what do we do with her?" asked Sonic. Angel sighed before looking back in the direction her village was.

"The only thing we can do. At first light, we'll have to take her back to the same spot Metal Sonic knocked her out at and leave her there to wake up on her own. Anything else and it would screw up what I know of the past," she said.

"Consider it done," said Sonic. "I'll be there and back in a flash and then we can head back to the present time of your world. In the meantime, I say you get some sleep. This time I'm the one who stands watch." Angel didn't argue one bit as she got up and walked over next to a tree stump and leaned up against it, snuggling into as comfortable of a position as she could. After all that had happened, she knew that the best thing she could do was try and get some sleep and put what had happened to the back of her mind. Her last thought before the darkness claimed her was a realization of what she had just asked Comet to do for her.

The next morning, Sonic expertly managed to slip the younger Angel and Comet back to the same spot in the now charred remains of the village that Metal Sonic had attacked them at. As he arrived back at their campsite, he noticed that Angel was fidgeting with her far left dreadlock, something he had learned from watching her that indicated she was anxious about something. But what it could've been he had no clue.

"Ready to go?" asked Sonic as he placed the Timestones around them in a circle.

"I suppose as ready as you'll ever get me to be," she said. The two of them then bowed their heads, concentrating on the exact time and day that it had been when Angel had used the Timestones to travel back to this time period. Suddenly, the Timestones all flashed brightly, a white light bursting forth from their cores that swallowed up the two mobians. As the white light died down, they were both gone.

************************************

"So what do we do now?" asked Cody as he, Slasher, Saber, and Tails all stood outside of Tails' hut. After Sonic had zipped off, it didn't take long for Slasher to figure out what must have been going on. After a quick examination of the hut revealed that the Timestones were missing, it was obvious what had happened.

"If she really did use the Timestones, then there's no telling when in history she went to," said Tails as he paced around.

"Which means we're all stuck here now," said Saber.

"Seems that way," said Cody. A small cough caught everyone's attention as they looked up to see Comet sitting in the tree overlooking Tails' hut.

"I'm sorry for the intrusion into your conversation, but you must believe me when I tell you that all will be fine," she said. Saber gave her a skeptical look.

"And how will it 'all be fine' when our only way home is gone?" he asked.

"My mistress will return, along with master Sonic," she said.

"How can you be so sure?" asked Slasher. Comet was about to answer when a blinding flash of light burst forth from within Tails' hut, causing everyone to shield their eyes as the light slowly faded away. Everyone's gaze turned to the hut as Sonic walked out, followed by Angel.

"Sonic! What the heck happened?" asked Cody as he ran over to the cerulean hedgehog.

"Nothing…Everything happened that should've happened," said Sonic.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked. He then looked over at Angel as she walked past the two of them towards where Comet was hovering. "And you, what the heck is your problem taking the-" A gloved hand being placed on his shoulder silenced the robian as he looked back at Sonic, who merely shook his head as Angel came to a stop in front of the violet chao.

"What is wrong mistress?" asked Comet. Angel's face contorted into one of sadness before she embraced her chao friend in a hug, tears bursting forth unchecked from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Comet. All this time, I never knew just how loyal a friend we were to me. To put up with all my negativity for so many years…To know that accepting Leviathan's offer was wrong and yet letting me fall into that pit of darkness. And the whole time staying by my side…" she cried as she tightly held her friend in her arms. "I'm so sorry I made you promise to never tell me the truth till now." At this, Comet broke down as well, returning the hug as she felt years of pressure and guilt suddenly lift off her chest as she realized that now was the time that she had been told would happen. The darkness that had enveloped her friend for so many years was finally starting to lift, letting the first real signs of her old self shine through again.

"It's okay mistress. You made me promise because you knew that you must, and I agreed because I knew that I must," she cried, tears now running down her own cheeks as she held her echidna friend tightly with her stubby arms. "I'm just so happy that you were telling me the truth all those years ago." Off to the side, the others just stared in confusion as to what was unfolding in front of them. Cody looked back at Sonic, jerking a thumb towards the two girls.

"What the heck got into them?" he asked.

"Way too complicated for me to explain," was all Sonic said as he gave a small smile.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Two weeks later, a lone figure sat at the edge of a cliff side, staring out over the lush jungle area to the north of the ledge, the person's gaze turning more towards the east where a vast desert began and ended as it melded with a forest filled with giant mushrooms. As the figure took in the sights before it, they let out a sigh as they looked skyward, the person's mind filled with conflicting thoughts. For nearly an hour the person stared up at the sky, watching the clouds lazily float by as she sat.

_Floating Island...To think that aside from Comet, you're all I have left in this world. No real home, no family, just…solitude, _thought Angel as she looked back down below her at the landscape of her adopted home from her favorite spot on the whole island. From there, she could take in the view of not only the land below, but also the azure skies above her. And if she felt like taking a small nap, the shady tree near the main path provided a nice resting spot. Slasher had been kind enough to bring her and Comet back up to the floating landmass after she felt her wings had healed enough to allow her to travel the distance. Afterwards she had departed back to Knothole. Tonight was the last night before Sonic and the other were to take off to the past to confront Leviathan and stop him from ever changing history. Unfortunately, Cody had given up hope that Drake would reappear. The little chao had gone missing ever since Metal Sonic's ambush in the tunnels of Rexxon's cave and despite what the cloaked figure had said, Drake hadn't been returned.

Angel sighed before standing up and turning back towards the pathway she had used to venture up to her spot. Comet was somewhere on the island, probably gathering provisions considering they had left in a rush when they were last here. As Angel reached the start of the pathway, she came to a stop, her face narrowing into a frown. Something wasn't right, of that she was sure of. She'd come to this spot of the island countless times before, but never once had she felt like she was being watched by something. She slowly reached for her sword's hilt, turning back towards the tree near the pathway.

"I know you're there. Show yourself," she said. A familiar chuckle answered her challenge as something draped in a brown cloak and hood dropped out of the trees. "It's you! But how'd you get up here?" asked Angel, instantly recognizing the figure as being the same person who she had met the night before their assault on Leviathan's base as she released her grip on her sword.

"I have my ways," said the cloaked figure as he turned and walked over to the cliff edge. "Hmm…A rather nice spot you picked out to be alone with your thoughts."

"What makes you think I wasn't just up here to keep a better watch over the island?" she asked him.

"My dear girl, I've been watching you for the last ten minutes. If you only just now realized I was here, then you must have been real deep in thought, am I right?" he asked. Angel sheepishly looked to the ground, knowing she had been caught in the lie.

"So what if I was?" she shot back. "That doesn't give you any right to be here or to watch me like a hawk watches its prey."

"Whatever gave you the thought I was watching you to attack you? I was merely just waiting for a chance to talk with you and I didn't want to interrupt your thoughts, that's all," he said. "Besides, I gave you my word about something and I've come to make good on it." The cloaked figure then motioned up at the tree. A second later an orange object dropped down from the tree, nearly colliding with Angel as she ducked to the ground to avoid getting hit by whatever the thing was. But instead of feeling the smack of the object against her head, she instead heard someone giggling. And not just any kind of giggling, but an all too familiar giggling.

"Darn it Drake! Don't scare me like that!" cried Angel as she quickly stood up and glared up at the hovering dragon chao as he held his clawed hands to his stomach as he tried not to completely lose himself in laughter. The cloaked figure was also chuckling to himself as Angel looked over at him. "So why did you bring him back to me? He belongs back with Cody and the others."

"I have my reasons," he answered. He then sighed as he out over the island. "To think that our world was once this beautiful. That it was once a place where no one had a care in the world. What fools we were to think that something like Leviathan could never happen."

"What do you mean?" asked Angel as she walked over next to the cloaked person, who turned towards her. He stared at her for several seconds before taking hold of her chin in his left hand lightly.

"You remind me so much of your mother. Sweet as sugar, but unrelenting as a storm when provoked," he said.

"You knew my mother?" asked Angel, her full attention now captured by the cloaked person.

"Well, not in great detail mind you," he said as he looked back down at the landscape. "I only met her for a few days when I stopped to rest in your village. I happened upon it during my travels and was stunned to find that the echidna race hadn't been wiped out like history books had said. I stayed with your family for a few days as their guest before leaving soon after. I met you during that time. You were so happy and upbeat. Just a bundle of joy and energy like all kids should be."

"So that's why you said you had met me before," said Angel. "I never knew you had been to our village, but I guess I wouldn't recognize you after all this time anyways."

"I suppose there's no reason you should have," he said.

"Well…I hate to tell you this, but…" she started to say, looking away from him.

"I know child. Death and ruin has always followed Leviathan where he has appeared. I know first hand," he said as he reached up and grabbed the hood of his cloak, pulling it back to reveal his face to her for the first time. Dark silver fur covered his face, though there was a large patch that ran from the base of his left eye around to the back of his head where only scarred tan skin remained. Three large, separate silver quills jutted out of the back of his head in a way that reminded her of the way Cody's metallic ones were arranged. In fact, they were remarkably similar to the way Cody's quills looked. It was then that the realization of who she was looking at stuck her like a slap to the face. The hedgehog recognized the look of shock that Angel's face had contorted to, nodding slowly. "Yes, that's right."

"But Lily said you were-" said Angel before Cody's hand rose up to stop her.

"Lily never knew what happened to me that night and as much as I wanted to come forward and show her I was fine, I knew doing so would have killed her and everyone else in Knothole," he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Cody gave a sigh before looking up to the sky.

"I can still hear the screams of the villagers all around me. How were we supposed to fight back against something as powerful as the velocibots?" he said softly as his mind drifted back to that night over ten years ago.

************************************

A high pitched scream echoed throughout the deserted streets of the quiet community. At this hour of the night, not a single soul was outside their homes as the first battle cry of the invading force rang out, splitting the silence like an axe through wood. All over the village lights were lit as the adults cautiously ventured outside. At first, nothing seemed amiss. But as the villagers began to return to their huts, the attackers struck hard and fast. Dozens of velocibots burst forth from their hiding places, instantly taking down whoever was unfortunate enough to be beneath them when they landed. Seeing the carnage that had erupted outside, a young adult male hedgehog with silver fur ran back inside his hut, closing the door as fast as he could as he could as a magenta furred female hedgehog ran up behind him.

"What's going on Cody?" asked the magenta hedgehog. The silver furred hedgehog just shook his head as he quickly grabbed her by the arm and led her back into the bedroom and towards a window near the rear of the room. He then went over to the dresser next to his side of the bed, opening one of the drawers as he took a small blaster and a couple of plasma grenades from within the drawer. Ever since news had spread that random villages throughout the northern continent had come under attack, he had stashed away these weapons taken from their community munitions shed just incase worst came to worst, and now he was glad he had taken them.

"I'm not sure, but we're definitely under attack, that much I'm sure of," he answered as he quickly opened the window and leapt through it to the grassy ground below. He then helped the magenta hedgehog out of the hut's window. The two of them quietly tiptoed to the side of the hut, peering around the corner just in time to see a velocibot come to a stop just outside their hut, giving a few sniffs of the air before growling softly to itself as it started walking towards the entrance to the hut.

"Listen Lily," said Cody softly as they ducked back behind the huts. "I'm going to distract that thing while you run. Don't stop till you get to the meeting place we agreed on."

"But I can't leave without you!" she whispered desperately to him. Cody just shook his head.

"There's no time to argue. If we stay together then that thing will get us both for sure," he said. He then gave her a small smile. "Don't worry, I have an idea on how to deal with that thing." Lily only nodded her head before embracing him in a tight hug.

"Just promise me that you'll be okay. I don't know what I'd do if…" she said as her voice trailed off, unable to bring herself to complete her sentence. Cody then gently kissed her on the lips, both of them not wanting to break away from each other for fear that it might be the last kiss they both shared. But as a low growl could be heard coming from within their hut and growing ever closer, they knew that they had to stop. As Cody broke away from the kiss, he gave her a nod.

"When I get his attention, take off into the forest and don't look back," he said. She gave him a nod as he turned and ran towards the front of the hut. As he rounded the corner, the full front of the velocibot was sticking inside their hut, sniffing around as it took in its surroundings. _Okay Cody…No turning back now_, he thought to himself. He started running away from the hut, firing has blaster at the robotic raptor's backside as a couple bolts caught it in the tail. The velocibot let out a scream of pain before it pulled its head back out of the hut, turning towards where the shots had come from. Seeing the silver furred hedgehog give it a quick smirk before dashing down the pathway back towards the village's main community area, the velocibot giving a loud cry as it took off after him.

_So I got its attention…Now if only I really _had_ some clue as to how to deal with it like I told Lily,_ thought Cody to himself as he ducked between two of the larger community huts, looking behind him to see the velocibot almost skid past the small alleyway before getting its balance back and come running down the path after him. Cody twisted his body back as he ran, taking a few pot shots at the robot with his blaster as it quickly gained on him, but all of them went wide. Just as the velocibot was about to pounce, one incredibly lucky shot connected squarely with its left eye as it penetrated its skull, the bolt exploding as it shredded the inside of the velocibot's head. The robotic raptor let out a high pitched cry before collapsing to the ground. Cody watched it fall to the ground, but didn't stop running till he came up next to a rather large hut.

"Man…I can't believe I actually managed to hit him like that," he said to himself as he caught his breath. He was about to head back towards the forest when his ear twitched at the sound of something coming towards him. He quickly hid behind the large hut, glancing out to see what was coming towards him. His hearing could pick up two things walking towards him from behind another hut a little ways away from him. As he watched, another raptor emerged from behind, sniffing the air as it looked about. But this raptor was different from the other one Cody had destroyed.

This one had violet armor covering most of its body from about the middle of its chest all the way to the tip of its tail where a three-pronged clamp was attached to it. The upper chest and head was mostly flesh save for the tubes running through its chest and the red optic sensor for its left eye. But while he was shocked to see that there was actually one of these creatures that wasn't fully robotic, it paled in comparison to the sight that greeted him as another raptor walked out from behind the hut, its size easily dwarfing the first raptor.

This one had gleaming silver armor covering its barb-tipped tail that then flowed down its back and over its upper head. Its underbelly was orange while the rest of its skin was as black as night. Its red eyes shone with a menacing look as it took in its surroundings. The larger raptor walked up next to the smaller, violet armored one as it continued to sniff the air.

"I don't know why you need to involve me with these kinds of raids, master," said the violet raptor hoarsely as it looked up at the other one, distaste obvious on its face.

"You do not need to know why I involve you during these attacks, my pet," said Leviathan sternly as he gazed down at the other raptor, who in response turned its gaze away, trying not to show its hatred at being called a "pet". "Now then, is there anyone else around that my forces have missed?" The violet raptor hesitated for a couple of seconds, then resigned itself to obey its master. It gave a couple of sniffs of the air, turning its gaze towards the hut that Cody was hiding behind.

But it never got to inform Leviathan of the hedgehog's presence as a small blue ball came flying out from behind the hut, landing at the violet raptor's feet. Before it could even begin to glance down to identify the object, a deafening explosion of plasma energy erupted from underneath it, throwing the raptor head over heels to the ground. The violet raptor didn't move as Leviathan gazed over its fallen form. After a quick once over, he realized that the blast had merely knocked it unconscious and that even though it would take some time to repair his pet, it would live. He sighed as he looked back towards the direction the plasma grenade had come from. Whoever had thrown the grenade more than likely had seen him, which meant he'd have to get his own claws dirty again to ensure that his secret remained safe.

_One down, one to go,_ though Cody as he gripped the second plasma grenade in his left hand, glancing back around the corner of the hut as he aimed his blaster towards where he had seen the two raptors standing. But instead of an angry, charging raptor coming towards him like he expected, he was greeted with nothing but the calm of the night. It was actually eerily quiet considering that the village was under attack. Cody's breath caught in his throat as the thought that it was so quiet because he was the last one left alive in the village ran through his head as his eyes darted around looking for the second raptor.

Suddenly something shoved him hard from behind as he flew out from behind the hut and tumbled to the ground, coming to a stop on his back. Before he could even begin to try and get up, a clawed foot slammed down on his chest, knocking the wind from him as another pinned his hand with the grenade to the ground with it held stretched out above his head and to the left. Realizing what had happened, Cody desperately tried to bring his blaster to bear on the large robotic raptor. But he never even had it aimed before a clawed hand grasped his wrist, giving a hard squeeze as he crushed the hedgehog's wrist bone, the blaster dropping to the ground.

"Ah…How long it has been since I've heard such a delightful noise up close and personal," said Leviathan to himself as he listened to the agonizing cry Cody gave at feeling his wrist being broken. "Still, I find it quite annoying that I have to deal with a piece of trash such as yourself, Cody Griffor." At this, Cody managed to fight down the pain in his chest, left arm, and right wrist as he looked up at the raptor with disbelief on his face.

"How the heck…do you know…who I am?" he asked between breaths of pain. Leviathan merely smirked at him with a tooth grin.

"I know everything about you, hedgehog. And about your wife Lily as well," he said sadistically. At hearing his wife's name, Cody felt an icy fist wrap around his heart. "Speaking of which, I noticed that she is not with you, nor has she been found by any of my forces. Tell me, where has she gone? Not that she's really all that important to me, but you see, I can't have anyone unaccounted for during these little raids," Cody felt a small amount of relief at hearing the creature ask this question. If he hadn't caught her yet, then surely she had managed to get away without getting caught. But at the same time, if he knew she was still out there, he would most certainly try and hunt her down.

"Like I would ever tell you monster," spat Cody. Leviathan sighed as he put more pressure on Cody's chest, making it extremely hard for the hedgehog to breathe as he looked up at the sky. Cody fought back the pain in his chest as he felt his ribs starting to crack from the weight as he began to fiddle with the device in his left hand.

"Now that just won't do now will it?" said Leviathan. "It's not like I can't find her myself, but having you tell me would save both of us some hardship. It saves me time and saves her from thinking she actually managed to get away. Now doesn't that sound like a much less stressful way to die?" he asked as he looked back down at the silver furred hedgehog.

"Not really. But then again, I doubt either of you will have to worry about it," said Cody as a smile worked its way on his face. Leviathan frowned at Cody's statement, wondering what the hedgehog meant. It wasn't until his eyes caught sight of the plasma grenade in Cody's left hand springing to life that he realized what the hedgehog was talking about. "Hope you enjoy your present!" shouted Cody as the grenade exploded in a flash of blue plasma, throwing Leviathan off the silver hedgehog and slamming him into the front of the hut Cody had been hiding behind earlier, smashing down the wooden wall as he plowed through it, coming to a rest inside.

Cody, on the other hand, didn't fair half as well as Leviathan had. The blast had literally blown off his left arm up to the elbow, leaving a charred stump in its place. Luckily, the blast had also cauterized the wound at the same time it had blown off his arm, meaning that there had been little blood loss. The blast had also burned nearly the entire upper left half of his head, leaving third degree burns behind in its wake. Screaming his lungs out, Cody lay on the ground curled up in a ball of pain. It was unbearable to him as he twitched about on the ground, his body convulsing from the amount of pain that now coursed through his body from the blast. A loud, high pitched scream broke through his pain ridden state as he fought down the pain with every last ounce of his willpower, slowly turning his head towards the hut that Leviathan had plowed through. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the robotic raptor slowly getting to his feet inside the hut.

"You…will pay _dearly_ for that!" hissed Leviathan as he glared at Cody from inside the hut. His face was torn asunder from the blast and his whole front half was scorched black, but he was still functional after being hit with the blast. Cody watched through squinted eyes as the raptor slowly took a step forward, knocking one of the shelves in the hut over with his tail as several object fell to the ground, one of them being a cylinder container that popped open and expelled a black powder. Cody suddenly realized where Leviathan was standing. Cody cried out in pain as he reached over with his right arm and grasped his discarded blaster as best he could with a broken wrist, aiming it shakily towards the robotic raptor who merely began to laugh as he saw the hedgehog try to steady his hand enough to aim. "What do you think you're doing with that little pea shooter?" Cody merely smirked as he continued to point the blaster in Leviathan's direction.

"This!" cried Cody as fired the blaster, the bolt sailing past Leviathan as it collided with another one of the cylinder containers in the hut, the gun powder kept inside it exploding violently as it started a chain reaction that sent the whole munitions hut up in a giant fireball. Cody quickly rolled away from the blast, covering himself up as best he could as debris started raining down from above. After nearly half a minute, the falling wreckage finally stopped. Cody slowly and painfully turned to look at the damage he had done. The entire hut was no longer there. The only thing that was recognizable was Leviathan.

The robotic raptor's body had managed to weather the explosions somewhat, but what was left still wasn't pretty. Several large holes had been blasted in his body and his head was a mangled mess. His tail had been completely blown off and was lying limply on the ground. His red eyes glared at Cody for a second, a look of pure hatred etched on them before they winked out, the raptor's body falling limp as it fell to the ground. A chorus of loud clang noises echoed through the night as all of the velocibots lost their synaptic link with Leviathan the instant he had went off-line to begin his repair process, the mechanical raptors all collapsing to the ground as they deactivated.

*********************************

"After that, I managed to make my way to a base that Robotnik had abandoned a few years prior to that. I stayed there, treating my wounds as best I could while hoping that Leviathan hadn't been able to track me if he was still alive. To be honest, I thought I had killed him. I never figured that he would be that resilient," said Cody as he looked at the ground. "Anyways, after I had recovered from my burns and replaced what I'd lost from my arm with a robotic replacement I managed to cobble together, I set out to find Lily. I eventually tracked her down to Knothole, but once I learned that Leviathan was the one that was leading their group, I realized I could never see her again, nor could I tell anyone what I knew about Leviathan."

"Because he would have ordered the whole village killed if you had exposed him," said Angel softly, finally realizing why Cody had never shown himself to Lily.

"Exactly, and I couldn't do that. So instead I decided that if I couldn't be with Lily, then I could at the very least help to disrupt Leviathan's plans. So over the next several years I sabotaged Leviathan as best I could without getting caught, setting him back months on projects, blowing up factories, disabling entire computer grids. Small stuff when you compare it to what you and Sonic managed to accomplish, but still enough to cause him some problems," said Cody.

"So you were the one that Leviathan was talking about when he said that only one person had managed to escape from him," said Angel, suddenly remembering what Leviathan had said to Sonic. "But why didn't you show yourself after Leviathan left Knothole? Why wait?"

"Because I didn't know that he had left until you were all on your way to Little Planet. I had been there hacking into his computer data base when I came across what was going on out at that race track of Metal Sonic's. I knew I couldn't get there in time to help, but I was close to where the two chao and one of the Timestones were being kept. So I went there and rescued the chao and took the stone. Then I came to where you guys were at," he said. He then smiled as he looked up at Drake who was sitting in the nearby tree, looking out over the island. "Comet seems to have a very deep bond with you. She could sense where you were even over that great distance, which is good because I doubt I'd have found you guys otherwise."

"That doesn't really surprise me," said Angel as she smiled as well. "The two of us are as close as peas in a pod. We've never been apart for more than a day." She then frowned as she turned back towards Cody. "But what still bothers me is why you came here. Like I said before, Drake should be back with Sonic and his timeline's Cody, not here with me."

"You still don't get it do you? I could see it in your eyes the night that I brought Comet back to you. The desire to help out your friends and put an end to the evil that had consumed our world…I have never seen someone's eyes burn as bright as I have with that desire before that night, even if you didn't outwardly show it or even know it yourself at the time," he said, gazing into Angel's emerald green eyes with his own yellow ones. "Even now, you are struggling with your decision to stay on this island. You mind is saying that you should stay here, but your heart is telling you to return with Sonic and his friends and help them stop Leviathan before he ever hurt anyone." Angel looked away towards the ground, wanting to deny that Cody was right in his assumption, but knowing it was true. While her duties to her people demanded her to stay here and watch over the Master Emerald in place of the true Guardian, her heart knew that she would never be at peace unless she helped to ensure that Leviathan was destroyed before he changed history.

"You're right, but…but I can't leave the island unguarded either. I made a promise that I would watch over it...as the last of my kind on Mobius," she said. "I can't go back on my word."

"Then allow me to watch it in your place," said Cody. Angel slowly looked back into Cody's eyes. "Both Comet and Drake told me about this place and the secret it hides. Let me take your place here as the Guardian of the island." Angel shook her head slowly.

"No…no, I couldn't ask you to do such a thing. To be bound to this place for the rest of your life…It's a fate that only I should have to endure," she said softly. Cody took her hands in his own, giving them a soft squeeze.

"No it isn't," said Cody sternly. "You've already had to deal with the fate of your whole family, your whole village. You have already suffered enough without being put through the burden of not only watching over this place for the rest of your life, but also never being at peace with yourself because you never knew what transpired between Sonic and Leviathan in the past."

"Cody…" she whispered softly before giving him a small smile and a single nod of her head, tears welling in her eyes as she embraced the silver hedgehog. "I will never forget this Cody. I promise." Suddenly, he head snapped back up as a though crossed her mind. "But wait! You don't know how to control the Master Emerald at all and there's no way I could teach you in a single day. And besides, I don't have any way to get back to Knothole." Cody merely jerked his thumb back towards the small dragon chao resting on the tree branch.

"That little chao might not look like much, but he knows a thing or two about controlling chaos energy. Even if he's physically unable to do so due to his age, his knowledge was more than enough to teach me the basics in the time I spent with him," said Cody. He then walked over to the edge of the cliff, looking down towards the jungle area. "As for getting back to Knothole, I told you I had a ways to get up here myself. You can take the transport I used to get up here. It should get you back to Knothole by nightfall."

"But won't that leave you stranded up here?" asked Angel. Cody just chuckled at the question.

"Trust me, I won't mind in the least. I'm nothing more than a forgotten memory to this world, just as this island is. And after all the fighting and death that I've witnessed, I'm glad I'll finally be able to just fade away for good," he answered stoically. Angel walked up next to him, looking out over what had been her home for nearly the last five years.

"Nothing ever just 'fades away for good'. The two of us are both living proof of that," she said as she took in the sights from her favorite vantage point for what might be the last time. Cody smiled at Angel's words, looking down towards the jungle area as a purple dot began to get increasingly bigger, realizing it was Comet on her way back to Angel.

"I suppose you're right…We may be lost memories to this world, but we are never truly lost as long as we choose not to be," said Cody.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

A loud splash sounded from the Power Ring pool as Sonic tossed yet another rock into its murky depths. He had lost count of how many rocks he had thrown now. All he knew was that he had probably picked up every decent sized rock in a five mile radius of Knothole and had thrown nearly all of them into the lake. He sighed as he looked up at the twin moons above. Tomorrow was the day that they would head back to the past to stop Leviathan. Tails had managed to extract the date, time, and location of Leviathan's attack on his and Sally's past self from the main computer in Leviathan's base on Little Planet, giving them exactly what they needed to know to stop the mecha bot from changing the timeline. Still, something nagged at the back of the hedgehog's mind that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Penny for your thoughts?" asked a voice from behind him. Sonic turned to see Tails looking down at him. "Need some company?" Sonic stared up at the twin-tailed fox for a couple of seconds before sighing and motioning for him to sit. "Are you okay? Is something bugging you?"

"I don't know little bro," he said as he tossed another rock into the pool. "There's just something about this plan we came up with that's been nagging me, but I don't know what it could be. I mean, we know when, we know where, and we know how he'll strike at us in the past. It should be a slam dunk to stop him, especially since he'll be a lot less powerful than he was when we took him out here."

"Well, to be honest, there's something that's been bugging me as well, though it has nothing to do with Leviathan," said Tails, looking away nervously. Sonic noticed the nervousness that his friend was giving off, wondering what it was that could have him so worked up like this.

"Hey. What's wrong big guy?" he asked. Tails just shook his head softly.

"It's just that…well…with Lily being gone, and you and everyone else leaving tomorrow I…I'm gonna be the one that everyone is gonna look to for leadership," he answered softly, looking down at the ground.

"But why is that so bad?" asked Sonic. Tails looked up at him, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

"But I can't lead this village! I don't know how!" he nearly shouted, his gaze shooting up to look into Sonic's eyes. Sonic then gave him a frown before giving a soft sigh.

"Tails…I don't think you realize just how much you do know about leading people," he said. "You may not see it, but I do. You've grown into a fine young mobian. And if you look around, everyone in this village looks up to you. You might not realize it, but you are one of the strongest foundations Knothole has."

"But I still don't know how to lead people. I might be a good foundation, but that doesn't make me a good leader," said Tails.

"Maybe not, but it's definitely one of the most important aspects. And if you look around, you've been doing very well when you've taken the bull by the horns," said Sonic. He then nodded up towards the community area. "Cody told me what you did in Leviathan's base. If that doesn't show you that you can be the leader these people need, I don't know what will."

"But-" started Tails before he was stopped by a gloved hand getting thrown into his face by Sonic.

"No 'buts' Miles," said Sonic sternly. Tails looked over at Sonic in shock after hearing the cerulean hedgehog call him by his birth name. He never did that unless he was extremely serious about getting a point across to the young fox. Tails then softened his expression, giving a slight nod.

"Thanks Sonic," he said. Sonic merely smiled before reaching over and ruffling up Tails' head fur.

"No problem buddy," said Sonic. The two of them returned their gaze out over the crystal-like surface of the ring pool. "Well, I think we'd better both turn in for-" suddenly Sonic was cut off as something whizzed by only twenty or so yards above them heading in the direction of Knothole, the two mobians throwing themselves to the ground.

"What the heck was that?" asked Tails as he slowly got back up. Sonic frowned before grabbing Tails by the arm.

"I don't know, but we're gonna find out," he said before he shot from his spot, racing back into the village. As he came upon the center of the residential areas, he could make out a hover-bike slowly descending to the ground, kicking up dirt and leaves from its exhaust. By now, half of the villagers were out of their homes and were gathering around to see what the commotion was about. As the bike came to rest on the ground and its engine was cut, Sonic couldn't help but give a small smirk.

"What's going on?" asked Cody as he ran up alongside Sonic and Tails.

"Nothing," said Sonic as he watched the familiar figure dismount the hover-bike. "Just an old friend that came to visit." The figure then walked up next to Sonic, staring him in his emerald eyes with their own as a much smaller figure landed on the first one's shoulder. A second small figure flew off the bike and towards Cody, causing the robian to smile when he saw who it was.

"Hello Sonic. Mind if a few more people join your little band of time travelers tomorrow?" asked the figure as she smiled at Sonic.

"What can I say?" said Sonic as he stuck out his hand, the figure grasping it as the two shook hands. "We'd be honored to have you fight by our side one last time, Angel Starfire."

***********************************

A lone figure sat on a single limb against the trunk of one of the Great Forest's giant trees, gazing up at the starlit sky above as the twin moons' glow cascaded across the treetop canopy. The rest of Knothole had already turned in for the night several hours ago. A sigh escaped Angel's lips as she pulled her legs up to her chest, curling her arms over her knees. Despite the enthusiasm that she had displayed when she had first come back to Knothole, her mind couldn't let go of the seriousness of the decision she was making.

One on hand, she knew that she had to help out Sonic and the others in any way she could. But on the other hand, going with them would mean that she would never be able to return to her own timeline ever again. If they defeated Leviathan in the past, then Sonic's timeline would become the prominent one, leaving hers out of reach forever, even to the Timestones' power. And if Leviathan won, then none of them would live to see this version of Mobius even play out.

But that wasn't the only thing that was gnawing at her mind at the moment. Sonic and the other time travelers had decided not long after she had arrived to go over their final plans for their counterattack against Leviathan in the past before he changed history. Tails had been certain that the information was completely reliable, pulled directly from the mainframe computer in Leviathan's base on Little Planet. But still, after seeing the layout of the map of the Great Forest and seeing where Leviathan had stationed himself for his attack on the younger Sonic and Sally, something about it seemed off to her, though she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Mistress, you really shouldn't be up this late, especially with such an important event that the coming day will bring with it," said the voice of Comet, the echidna's head and gaze looking up to see the violet chao sitting on a smaller branch above her.

"I couldn't sleep," said Angel softly. Comet only nodded to herself in response to Angel's statement. She had learned long ago not to ask too many questions when the echidna was deep in thought about something. As Angel continued to stare at the night sky while trying to get the nagging feeling about the layout of that map out of her mind, a frown suddenly worked its way across her face. The frown quickly deepened, and then just as suddenly reversed itself into one of realization as she suddenly realized why that map layout had bugged her so much. She quickly got back to her feet on the large, sturdy limb, turning around to look up at Comet who had heard her mistress practically scramble to her feet.

"What's wrong mistress?" asked Comet, curious to know what had caused the echidna to suddenly bolt upright like she had. Angel glanced away from Comet slightly, a little afraid to divulge what she had just thought of, but at the same time knowing she had to tell the little chao.

"Comet, can you promise me something?" she asked, regretting that she once again had to put another heavy burden on her best friend's shoulders. Comet could see that Angel had struggled a little to ask her this question, but she also knew that her mistress would never ask her to keep a promise unless she had a very good reason. The little chao simply gave a nod of her head to signify that she would follow any request that was given to her.

**********************************

"So…I guess this is it, isn't it?" asked Tails as he gazed into the eyes of his best friend for the last time, wanting to beg him not to leave him again and yet knowing he couldn't.

"Yeah…I guess so," said Sonic as his right hand grasped the indigo Timestone a little tighter. Behind him, the other six members of his group of time travelers were each holding one of the remaining stones. A rather large crowd had come to see them on their way, but only Tails had come forward to say anything. The poor fox's eyes were fighting back tears. "Listen Tails," he said, placing his free hand on the fox's shoulder. "I just want you to know, that no matter what happens…I'm proud of you."

"I know," whispered Tails, moving forward and embracing Sonic in a hug, which the blue hedgehog gladly returned. After a few seconds, Tails released him. "Thank you for everything you have done, all of you," he said, looking from Sonic to all the members of his group. Various replies answered his praise. He then reached down and picked up the backpack sitting at his feet, handing it to Sonic.

"You sure you don't need this thing?" asked Sonic, pulling out the village's last Power Ring from within it.

"Even if we did, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I knew that we didn't give you guys all the help you could get for this fight," said Tails with a small smile, which Sonic returned.

"Thanks pal," said Sonic as he put the ring back into the pack and swung it over his shoulders. "I'll make sure to use it wisely." He then looked back towards the six others standing behind him. Each one regarded him with a seriousness that he had rarely seen anyone display before. Slasher and Saber were both tense, though they were trying their best to keep themselves calm. Cody stood as still as a statue, letting no real emotion show through his robotic features as Drake stood on his shoulder. But as his gaze turned towards Angel and Comet, their faces held a little different look to them than the rest.

Sure, they were still deeply serious about the coming battle, but he noticed that Angel was fiddling with her far left dreadlock again. Something that he had learned from watching her mannerisms that tipped him off that something was making her nervous for some reason. He looked at her face for a few extra seconds before brushing it off as just her being nervous about fighting against Leviathan. After all, the beast had trained her for four years. She was probably well aware of what he was capable of.

"You know, I don't say something like this very often," said Sonic as he turned back to face the six other time travelers. "But I just want you all to know that it has been an honor and a privilege to fight by your side these last few weeks." He noticed that both raptors gave each other a sideways glance, while Cody merely cocked an eyebrow at Sonic's comment. Both Angel and Comet didn't respond visibly that he could tell.

"What's with the sudden dramatic statement?" asked Cody, folding his arms across his chest. "You make it sound like we're about to undertake some kind of suicide mission or something." Sonic gave a small sigh before turning his gaze away from the group a little bit.

"There's a fair chance that it might just become that," said Sonic solemnly. He then looked over at Angel as she continued to fiddle with her dreadlock. He then walked up to her, catching her attention as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Listen…If you still want to back out, now's the time. None of us will think any less of you if you wish to stay here. This is, after all, your world. You've already done more than any of us could have hoped to ask for." Angel hesitated slightly at Sonic's words, but then shook her head.

"No. I realize I will never see my home again, but I made a promise to you that I would stick by your side till this whole ordeal was over. And until Leviathan is stopped in the past, it isn't over," she said softly, but confidently. Sonic gave her a smile and a nod, turning back towards Tails and the crowd.

"Well everyone, it's been a real blast," he said loud enough for everyone that had gathered to hear him. He then turned back to the group of six, holding up the blue Timestone. "Now then, we all remember where and when, right?" Everyone gave a nod before they each closed their eyes, grasping onto their individual Timestones with both of their hands as they began to concentrate on the time and place they wished to be transported to. The glow from the Timestones slowly began to increase, bathing the group in their light as energy crackled around them. Suddenly, all of the Timestones flashed a brilliant blast of white light, blinding Tails and the rest of the crowd. But as quickly as the light had burst forth, it just as quickly receded, leaving in its place nothing more than thin air.

"So, do you think they'll win?" asked Sam as he walked up next to Tails. The double tailed fox shook his head slowly.

"I wish I could tell you, Sam," he said softly. He then smiled as he looked at the spot that Sonic had been standing in before the group had been teleported to the past. "But if there's anyone that can beat Leviathan, it's Sonic."

***********************************

Sonic groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, squinting them as they tried to adjust to the light of the setting sun. Around him, he heard several other groans and moans coming from five other sources as his friends also regained consciousness. Suddenly remembering where they were supposed to be, Sonic's eyes fully opened as he flipped onto his feet, almost falling back to the ground as his body tried to stabilize its sense of balance. If they truly were near Leviathan's location, then they had to get their act together before he noticed them. Otherwise he would either escape or be on top of them before they knew it. But a quick look around gave no indications that the mecha bot had discovered their presence yet. The only thing that greeted them was the green and lush landscape of the Great Forest.

"So are we in the right place and time?" asked Cody as he finally got to his own feet, holding a hand up to his still spinning head.

"I'm not sure," said Sonic as he continued looking around for any sign of Leviathan. Both of the raptors were cautiously sniffing the air, cocking their heads side to side as they listened intently to the sounds of the forest for anything out of place. The two chao both stood at Cody's feet, neither of them making a sound for fear of distracting the two dinosaurs.

"He's not here," said Slasher finally, looking back at Sonic. "I'm not picking up his scent at all."

"That's just great…" sighed Cody as he relaxed his tense posture. "So Leviathan did falsify his records after all. Well so much for Angel being right about Leviathan never lying about anything." Sonic merely nodded his head in agreement before he suddenly froze. He then looked around frantically before taking off in a gust of wind as he dashed all around the immediate area before coming to a stop back in the middle of the group.

"Where the heck is Angel anyways?" he exclaimed. "She should've been right here with us."

"She's here somewhere," said Saber as he looked towards the direction the wind was blowing from. "Her scent was faintly on the wind."

"But why would she go somewhere else? I mean if Leviathan was right here like we thought he'd be, then we would've needed her," said Sonic. It was then he noticed that Comet was looking down at the ground, away from the gaze of the rest of the group. "You know what's going on, don't you?" he asked the small violet chao. Comet merely cringed at Sonic's question.

"I'm sorry…I can't tell you," she said softly.

"What do you mean you can't tell us?" asked Cody angrily.

"Back off, Cody!" said Sonic, putting the robian back in his place for yelling at the little chao. He then walked up next to Comet, leaning down and putting a hand on her head.

"You promised her that you wouldn't tell us, didn't you?" he asked. Comet slowly nodded her head, tears starting to fall from her eyes. Sonic cupped her chin with the hand he had placed on her head, drawing her gaze up at him.

"She…she didn't want anyone else to get hurt," said Comet, her lip quivering as she tried to fight back the tears. "She made me promise…she made me promise not to tell!" Sonic's eyes lit up with worry as he realized what was truly going on.

"I'm going on ahead," said Sonic as he picked up Comet and placed her inside of his backpack.

"What's going on?" asked Slasher.

"I'm not sure, but if my guess is correct then I can't have you guys slowing me down any," said Sonic as he looked to the sky to get his bearings by where the sun was currently at.

"Drake, may I please borrow your Chaos Emerald?" asked Comet as she glanced down at the dragon chao.

"Sure," said Drake as he slipped the chain that he kept the indigo emerald attached to over his head, flying up and handing it to her as she put it in the bag.

"Okay. Got it," said Sonic as he finally figured out which way he was facing. He looked back at Comet. "Fill me in on the way there." He looked back at the group of four behind him "And you guys catch up as soon as you possibly can." And with that he took off with a sonic boom as he headed towards the other end of the forest.

************************************

"Look out Sonic!" shouted a ten-year old Sally Acorn as fifty yards in front of her a ten-year old Sonic the Hedgehog playfully dodged another laser bolt from a pursuing hover-unit. The young hedgehog was laughing his head off he was having such a blast messing around with Robotropolis' security patrols. As he dodged another laser bolt, he quickly shot forward and scooped the young princess up in his arms as he headed for the exit of the city.

"Oh man!" laughed the little hedgehog as he easily outran the much slower hover-units that were chasing after them. "You ever wonder if Robotnik takes me too lightly, Sal?"

"You're the one that takes things too lightly, Sonic Hedgehog," said Sally as the two of them exited the city, coming to a stop after about a mile out into the Great Meadow to see their handiwork. A billowing pillar of smoke was rising near the eastern side of the city, testament to their successful hit and run attack on the main Swatbot production factory. With the damage that they had caused, it would be weeks before the factory would be operational again.

"Once again, I rule and ol' Buttnik drools," said Sonic as he watched the smoke cloud. Sally just groaned.

"Can we just go home now?" she asked him, ready to put the trials of today's mission out of her mind.

"Yeah. Sounds like a good idea," said Sonic as he picked up Sally again in his arms. "Hold on tight Sal! Juice time!" he said as he shot towards the Great Forest, unbeknownst of the danger that was waiting for them within the edge of the forest.

*********************************

The rather loud explosion emitting from within the confines of Robotropolis had given Leviathan the heads up he had needed to know that his prey would very soon be passing by. The robotic raptor continued to remain crouched on a large boulder overlooking the pathway that the young Sonic and Sally would be using any moment. He stood as still as a statue, his eyes locked on the Great Meadow where he could see a small cloud of dust being kicked up by the high speed hedgehog as he exited the city. For the first time that the mecha bot could remember, he was actually feeling giddy at the prospect of what was about to take place. The dust cloud had began anew, signaling to Leviathan that the time was nigh upon him. All of his sensors, all of his AI matrix's processing power was now devoted on the singular task at hand as the dust cloud reached the edge of the forest and Leviathan could make out in great detail the faces of both Sonic and Sally. But as the great mecha bot began to push off the rock with his full might to attack, something slammed hard into the side of his midsection, throwing him from the boulder and to the forest floor in a heap. The sudden clanging of Leviathan falling off the rock was enough of a racket to cause the young hedgehog to come to a stop, letting Sally back onto her feet.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Up there!" shouted Sally as she pointed to an object up in the air, suspended by a rope attached to one of the giant limbs of a nearby tree. The object then let go of the rope, doing a double back flip before landing right in front of the two kids, revealing it to be a female mobian with pink fur dressed in a green tank top and shorts with matching green boots. The girl then reached her right hand back, grasping the hilt of her double edged long sword and pulling it free from its scabbard.

"Whoa! Now that was definitely way past cool!" said the young Sonic as he gazed in awe at the newcomer.

"Who are you?" asked Sally.

"Doesn't matter," said the mobian. "Now get out of here, both of you!"

"Why? What's going on?" asked Sonic as he scratched his head.

"I don't have time to explain! Just take the princess and get back to Knothole! Now!" she practically yelled at them. Sally nodded before turning to Sonic.

"We'd better listen. Something is going on and I don't think we want to be a part of it," she said. Sonic looked crestfallen at her decision, but nodded as he reached into his backpack.

"Get a grip Sal," he said as Sally wrapped her arms around his chest, Sonic pulling a Power Ring from within the backpack. A golden glow surrounded his body as he drew in the ring's power. "We're bailing warp seven!" He then shot from his spot, setting off a sonic boom as Sally's terrified cries could barely be heard in the background of the boom. Angel watched them out of the corner of her eyes before a bellowing screech burst forth from the jaws of Leviathan as he finally got back to his feet, seeing the final bits of the dust cloud left over by Sonic's departure fade into the wind. He then turned his gaze towards the pink echidna girl, his teeth clenched together in an anger he had never felt before.

"You…Do you have any idea what you've done!? It took me weeks to plan that attack!" he shouted at her. But when the girl did nothing more than merely scoff at him, he recoiled a bit in surprise. It was a strange sight to him to see someone stand before him, especially with the kind of rage he was in, and not so much as have a spark of fear show. His anger having now turned to curiosity, he regarded her with a much more level headed voice. "Who are you?"

"Doesn't really matter does it?" she asked him as she gripped her sword's hilt a little tighter. He glared back at the raptor for a few seconds before her mouth curved into a smirk. "Let's just say I'm someone you're gonna wish you never met." At this, Leviathan merely smirked as well. Now that he had been allowed a few moments to process what was going on in front of him, he realized what was going on. And the more he thought about it, the quicker his smirk turned into a smile, then into a slight chuckling that then broke into laughter. "And this is funny to you why?"

"Oh my little girl. Forgive my amusement, but knowing now that I was foolish enough to allow someone such as yourself to gather all the Timestones at some point in the future is actually somewhat laughable to me," he said. At this, Angel's own smirk quickly faded into a frown.

"Laughable?" she asked him. "I found nothing laughable about the horrific world you created, nor do I find anything laughable about all the pain and misery you caused to so many people just to satisfy your own twisted little agendas." She then took a proper offensive stance, clutching the hilt of her sword tight enough now that white was showing through the fur on her knuckles. "Leviathan! For every man, woman, and child you have ever harmed…I will strike you down once and for all!" At this challenge, Leviathan's own smirk vanished as he took his own stance.

"Very well. If you are so eager to end your life by my hands, then so be it," he growled. Angel then took off from her spot, running straight at the powerful mecha bot, leaping high into the air as the setting sun in the distance cast her shadow over Leviathan's frame. Bring her sword back, she then swung with all her might down at the beast's head, only to have Leviathan block it with both his arms. The final gauntlet had been thrown.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"And once she realized what it was about the map that had been bothering her, she decided that she would face Leviathan alone. She had already seen too many people hurt because of Leviathan and wished to be the only one that would be in danger during this final conflict," explained Comet over the howl of the wind blowing past her from her spot inside of Sonic's backpack as the blue hedgehog raced through the Great Forest as fast as his legs would carry him.

"But that's ridiculous!" Sonic hollered over the wind. "Leviathan is too powerful of an opponent for just one person to face off against. She should know that better than anyone." At this, Sonic spotted the end of the tree line, exiting the forest as he slowed to a stop. He had known which direction he had been traveling in the whole time, but as far as its relationship to where Angel and Leviathan would be fighting he knew he wouldn't be able to judge till he had gotten out of the forest and seen exactly how far away he was by judging the surroundings.

"It is true that Leviathan is a powerful foe, and Angel knew this quite well. But she assured me that she had a way to beat him," said Comet as Sonic looked around the area. Robotropolis could be seen in the distance, the billowing of smoke from his younger counterpart's attack still issuing from the destroyed factory.

"I don't see how…" was all Sonic said before he looked to the right. "That way, right?" he asked Comet, jerking a thumb to his right. Comet nodded, gripping the pack in preparation for Sonic's departure just before the cerulean hedgehog took off once more in the direction he had indicated.

*******************************

Both Angel and Leviathan stood a good thirty meters apart from one another, slowly circling around the clearing as they each looked for an opening to exploit. So far the two combatants had only landed glancing blows against each other during the first few series of attacks at one another. A couple of small scratches adorned Angel's left arm from a near miss from Leviathan's claws while the mecha bot himself had taken a few small slices from the echidna's sword to his underbelly hide that he had already repaired. Now the two of them had taken to a distance, studying their opponent. Angel clearly looked the more confident of the two of them, as she was familiar to some extent on how Leviathan fought. But Leviathan, having no idea what the pink furred echidna was capable of, was being far more defensive at the moment.

Suddenly, Angel shot from her spot at a dead run, pulling her sword back. Leviathan crouched into a defensive stance as he saw her initiate the next attack, raising an arm up to block Angel's sword as she swung it around at his midsection, a metallic clang sounding as her blade bounced off Leviathan's armor. Not missing a step, Angel whipped around and brought her weapon to bear against Leviathan's head, which was again blocked by his other arm. Leviathan then lunged forward, jaws wide open to take a bite out of the echidna. But Angel was expecting it, dropping to the forest floor and rolling underneath the raptor as he passed by overhead. She quickly sprang to her feet, turning her head back to see Leviathan turning back around to face her, his jaws still open as he let out a feral scream of anger at her ability to read him as well as she had been doing so far. Gripping her sword tightly, Angel then swung it straight at Leviathan's neck in a killing stroke, intent on finishing the fight before Leviathan decided to take it up a notch.

However, Leviathan had seen enough of Angel's fighting style by that point to notice she was preparing to attack him. As such, he decided to allow her to think she was surprising him as she swung her sword back at him. His jaws still open, he moved his head in front of the blow, the blade sinking into the synthetic flesh of his mouth as he clamped down hard on the weapon. He then pushed off the ground with both feet as he jumped backwards a good ten yards, yanking the sword from Angel's grasp as the surprised echidna was pulled to the ground from the force of her weapon being stripped from her. As she scrambled to her feet, she could hear Leviathan's amusement filled chuckling fill her ears. She watched with gritted teeth as Leviathan dropped the blade into his right hand, gripping it in a somewhat awkward manner as the wounds the sword had caused to his mouth were healed.

"Such a primitive weapon to be using when fighting against such an advanced being, don't you think?" he asked her nonchalantly, looking over the weapon. "Yes…I can see why you might think this would be a decent weapon. It has remarkable craftsmanship for such advanced times as these. Definitely not something you'd find being made by machines in a factory, that's for sure. Pity." He then looked up into the tree line for a couple of seconds before hurling the sword high up into the treetops, the blade sticking into the trunk of a tree several stories up, far beyond the reach of Angel. "And with your weapon now out of the way, I'll end this quickly." Leviathan then let out a feral cry as he charged towards Angel. But in the face of the oncoming danger, the echidna girl stood her ground.

"You should know that the weapon doesn't make the warrior," said Angel as she dashed straight at Leviathan, leaping straight up at his charging form as she slammed her right knee into the raptor's jaw, the sound of metal crunching being heard as Leviathan's head snapped back. The momentum from her jump continued to propel her up as she then swung her whole body around, catching Leviathan's head in the left side with her left foot, the mecha bot stumbling backwards from the surprise attacks as Angel landed in front of him, dashing forward and leaping up again to deliver a solid uppercut with her right fist before swinging her body around again to slam him on the right side of his head with both her fists clamped together like a hammer. Not wanting to fall victim to a third combination of melee attacks, Leviathan opted to instead leap backwards out of her attack range to gather himself.

"Not bad, little girl…Not bad at all," hissed Leviathan as his tail twitched behind him, the only outward sign he was getting annoyed with how even sided the fight seemed to be. "But even you must realize that while you're able to keep up with me now, you will tire yourself out eventually. And when that happens, I will pick up apart."

"Oh I know full well that you can outlast me in a fight," she said calmly as she walked over to the boulder that Leviathan had been perched upon just a couple of minutes ago. Leviathan watched her with curiosity as she seemed to be looking for something on the ground. "But then again, who says that this fight will go on that long?" she asked, reaching down and plucking a jagged shard of stone off the ground and then retaking her offensive stance.

"You certainly have a lot of confidence for someone with nothing more to fight with than a rock," said Leviathan. He could tell the echidna had something in mind for the rock, the question was what. The fact that she was displaying no signs of fear at all at her situation was what was really eating at him. How she could remain so calm with all the odds stacked so high against her at the moment was baffling to him.

Angel, on the other hand, was worried out of her mind. When Leviathan had snagged her sword away from her, she thought her plan was blown. If her strike had hit its intended mark, the mecha bot would probably not have recovered from it. But when Leviathan didn't seem too eager to finish her, she realized he hadn't seen through her plan of attack. But with her sword now no longer an option since getting it would make her way too open to attack while she climbed up to get it, she had to opt for the next best thing. _I just hope this thing's strong enough to do the job,_ she thought to herself as she retook her stance, holding the rock shard in her right hand like a dagger.

"Sometimes the simplest of tools can accomplish the greatest of tasks," was her only retort before she took a deep breath and charged at Leviathan, who readied himself for the oncoming echidna. Angel watched Leviathan rear up on his hind legs as she came at him, making her target all that much harder to hit. But she was committed to ending the fight in this attack and stood her ground as she ran at the raptor. Watching with her highly trained eyes, she lunged at Leviathan's midsection with the rock, the mecha bot throwing his head down at her as she reached him, intent on clamping on her head. But at the last second, Angel withdrew her attack, spinning away from Leviathan's midsection and narrowly dodging his counter attack. The direction of her spin brought the dagger to bear on its true target as it aimed at the gemstone set inside of his collar. Leviathan, however, realized what was going on the instant she had withdrawn her initial strike and decided that it was time to put an end to playing around with the echidna.

As the rock shard came within a couple of inches of its target, it was suddenly stopped by Leviathan's clawed hand as he blocked it, the shard digging deep into his synthetic flesh from the force of blow Angel had used. Without missing a beat, the mecha bot then flung his hand out hard and fast, ripping the rock shard free of a surprised Angel's grasp before shoving her back and to the forest floor with his other clawed hand. He then quickly brought his left foot down onto the echidna's midsection, pinning her in place. Angel tried to push Leviathan's foot off of herself, but the robotic raptor weighed too much to even begin to budge him even if she could find some kind of leverage.

"You surprise me echidna," said Leviathan as he pressed harder against Angel's ribcage, the mobian feeling a couple of her ribs giving way to Leviathan's weight. "To think that you knew all along how to take me out, yet you let the fight drag on longer than you should have." At this, Angel could only glare defiantly at the raptor, realizing she had dragged it out to satisfy her own sense of revenge. And she was now paying the price as she felt Leviathan's sickle claw begin to dig into her flesh. But she held back from crying out from the pain. She wouldn't let him have the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

"Just do it…end it," was all she said to the mecha bot. Leviathan thought about fulfilling her demand, but curiosity got the better of him as he pressed a little harder onto her chest, his sickle claw now deep enough that it punctured her left lung, making it hard for the echidna to breath.

"As you wish, but first I want to know how you knew about my weakness?" he asked. Only Robotnik, Snively, and Robo Knuckles had knowledge of his secret, and yet this echidna did as well.

"Wasn't hard," she hissed at him through clenched teeth as she fought both the pain and the lack of air she was getting. "After being around the Master Emerald for so many years, you tend to remember the kind of chaos field that it produces."

"I see," said Leviathan as he smiled slightly. "Too bad in the end it meant nothing knowing about it." With that, he pressed even harder on Angel's chest with his clawed foot. That was finally the last straw for Angel's willpower as she cried out in pain, feeling a couple more ribs crack under the weight of the mecha bot. "All you ended up doing is changing my plans. Instead of just killing Sonic and the princess, I'll level all of Knothole itself. You can take some solace knowing you at least spared the hedgehog's life for another hour or two. But now that they know about me, I can't let news of my existence spread." He then stepped off of Angel, the echidna now curled into a ball due to the pain. Leviathan then licked his chops as he eyed her. "I've always wondered what it would be like to be just like the creature I was designed after. Hunting down prey, then killing and eating it." At that, Angel's eyes widened as she realized he wasn't kidding.

"Then all I ask for…is that you make it a quick death," she wheezed as her breathing became even more labored from the punctured lung and the accumulating blood loss.

"For a warrior such as yourself, I would think nothing less," he answered as he stepped up next to her again, raising his other clawed foot up a good two feet into the air, aiming for her head to crush it in a single blow. But before he could deliver it, another person that had been watching the whole battle so far finally made themselves known.

"Leave her alone you big jerk!" yelled a voice from behind and above Leviathan. He turned his head towards the source of the voice only to have his right eye pierced by Angel's sword, the raptor crying out in pain as he stumbled away from Angel as he gripped the hilt and yanked it from his now destroyed eye, tossing it to the ground. With his one good remaining eye, he spotted a very young two tailed fox land next to Angel, trying to tell if she was okay. Rage now burning, Leviathan let out a primal screech that scared the young fox witless as he turned back towards the mecha bot, his whole body frozen in fear. Leviathan then whipped his whole body around, smacking the young fox solidly with the midsection of his tail and sending him slamming into a tree trunk, knocking him unconscious.

"How unfortunate," said Leviathan as he eyed the sleeping fox. "I had hoped to break you into being an obedient servant since you are young and easily manipulated." Angel realized that while Tails had made a brave stand, Leviathan was now determined to kill him as well before he departed. Gathering as much strength as she could muster with her injured body, she slowly stood back up and picked her sword off the ground next to her.

"Hey Leviathan!" she shouted as loud as she could, which wasn't much more than her normal talking volume with her injuries, but it was enough to catch the mecha bot's attention again as he turned back towards her, his look one of half amazement at the fact that she could still stand up, much less wield her sword still. "Leave the kid out of this. This is between you and me." Leviathan merely huffed at her statement.

"As if you stand much chance against me now. You're so drained that you can barely stand on your own feet, much less fight," he said.

"So then are you saying…you're a coward?" she asked him between heavy breathes. At this comment, Leviathan fully turned back towards her, his rage now focusing on her again.

"I fear nothing," he said sternly before he started charging at Angel. "Especially not someone like you!" Angel fought the wave of nausea that had taken up residence in the pit of her stomach as she gripped her sword tightly as Leviathan quickly closed the gap between them. Leviathan lunged at her with his jaws open, intent to silence the echidna in one attack. But as he lunged at her, Leviathan had grossly miscalculated just how much Angel's fighting abilities had been hampered. With uncanny speed, she ducked his lung before stabbing her sword straight up, the blade connecting solidly with the shard of the Master Emerald embedded in Leviathan's collar.

Time almost seemed to stand still for the two combatants as Angel's sword drove into the shard, shattering it into three separate chunks as the pieces fell out of the socket on Leviathan's collar. Angel then withdrew her sword as Leviathan seemed to freeze completely for a few seconds before falling onto his side with a loud thud. At seeing the raptor felled, Angel's own body finally gave out as she started to collapse. But before she could hit the ground, something caught her as a strong breeze blew past her.

"And I thought the stunt you pulled a couple weeks ago was bad," said Sonic as he gently laid her onto the ground, examining the wounds that Leviathan had inflicted.

"I'll be okay, just make sure Tails is alright," she said, motioning with her head towards the sleeping fox.

"Where did he come from?" asked Sonic as he ran over to the young fox's side. Angel just shook her head as she looked over at the unconscious fox.

"Not sure. One minute…Leviathan's got me pinned…to the floor, the next…Tails attacked him and…got him off me," she said. "By the way, how did you know…where I was?" she asked him slowly.

"I told him mistress," said Comet as the violet chao poked her head out of Sonic's backpack. Angel smiled slightly despite the pain she was feeling.

"I suppose I should be happy…you broke your promise," said Angel softly as the violet chao hopped out of Sonic's pack, carrying the indigo emerald.

"Well, technically she didn't break it. We sort of guessed what was going on," said Sonic, giving Tails a once over before deciding that he wasn't seriously hurt, just knocked out. Suddenly, a loud whirring sound came from Leviathan's unmoving body, drawing everyone's attention. His still good eye then came back to life, looking first at Angel for a second before turning its gaze towards Sonic. His mouth then curled into a smile.

"I should've known you were somehow involved in all of this, hedgehog," he spat weakly. "Too bad your little victory over me will be short lived." At this, Sonic glanced over towards Angel, who merely shrugged her shoulders as best she could in her pain ridden state. Then a loud click sounded from deep within Leviathan's still unmoving body.

"What are you doing?" asked Sonic, eyeing the mecha bot. Leviathan only chuckled as the whirring sound began again.

"I'm making sure that if I die, I'm taking you and the rest of this world with me!" he answered, his voice sounding even more distant as the last of his reserve power was quickly draining away.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Sonic, worry on his face at what the raptor might be planning. Leviathan laughed again before his still good eye winked out.

"Thanks to researching all of Robotnik's databanks before I went rogue, I rigged myself to be able to blast a hole through the very fabric of this dimension and open an ever expanding portal to the place you call the Void as a last resort. Enjoy the last sixty seconds of this world while you still can because thanks to my own additions to Robotnik's Void technology, the hole will keep growing till it has consumed this entire planet!" said Leviathan as the last of his reserve power finally gave out, his entire body going completely limp.

"Oh man…that's not gonna be pretty," said Sonic. Angel merely gave Sonic a look of confusion, having never heard of the Void before. Noticing her glance, Sonic just shook his head. "I'll explain later. Right now I've got to ditch him somewhere as far away as I can to give us some time to think of a solution to this." He then ran up next to Leviathan, gripping the end of his tail. He then tried to take off, but the mecha bot weighed too much for even him to drag along with his speed.

Realizing that it was now or never, Sonic let go of Leviathan's tail and reached into his backpack, pulling out the Power Ring the alternate future Tails had given him. The golden glow from the ring quickly spread over Sonic as he absorbed its energy. He then reached down and grasped Leviathan's tail once more, this time managing to begin to drag the mecha bot along the ground as he quickly picked up speed as he headed out of the forest and in the direction of the barren wasteland known as the Great Unknown. As he faded from the view of Angel, a series of loud footsteps could be heard from behind her. Looking back over her shoulder, Angel could see the other four members of their group heading for her.

"Are you okay?" asked Slasher, seeing the puncture wound that was still bleeding.

"I've been better," was her only response before the blood loss finally caught up with her as she went limp, Cody quickly catching her and lowering her to the ground.

"What should we do?" asked Drake, looking up at the two raptors. Slasher merely shook her head.

"There's not much we can do I'm afraid. We can't take her to this time period's Knothole without causing the timeline to shift again. And making a jump through time with the Timestones might cause too much of a strain on her weakened state and kill her," answered Slasher. It was at this moment a small flash of light caught their attention, the group turning their gaze to its source to see a fairly large bird with golden feathers standing where Comet had been.

"I believe I can at least patch her up enough for her to survive another trip through time," said Comet as she stepped up next to Angel's limp form. She then placed both of her wings onto Angel's chest. At first, nothing seemed to happen. But slowly a small flicker of light began to issue forth from Comet's wings, spreading out over the echidna's body as the hole that had been opened in her chest slowly healed itself as the other's looked on in amazement. The process only took a few seconds, but to everyone it felt like an eternity. As the last of the wound closed, Comet removed her wings from Angel. "She should be good enough to survive the trip to your present now," she said weakly.

"That's good, but what happened to you?" asked Saber as he was the first to notice that something seemed wrong. Not only had her voice grown weak, but the golden hue of her feathers had dulled to a dirty brown color.

"I gave her most of my own life force," she answered hoarsely. "I didn't have the restorative powers I needed from just a single Chaos Emerald so I had to improvise. All I could do is heal the wound, but her blood loss is still quite severe. Unless she is treated soon, she still won't make it." Comet then changed back into her original state, the indigo emerald sitting next to her as she sat down. "Tell Angel…I'm sorry about breaking…my promise to her," was the last thing she said in almost a whisper as the same onion-shaped barrier that had encased Drake when he was transcending into his adult stage engulfed her. Only this time, the process was much faster as the translucent barrier quickly became a solid white, obscuring her from view. Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared, leaving behind nothing more than a single chao egg.

"What happened?" asked Slasher.

"She used too much of her own life force to heal Angel," said Drake as he watched Cody walk over and pick up the egg. "She all but killed herself. Turning back into an egg is usually a last resort to save ourselves from death."

"Let's just hope her sacrifice wasn't in vain," said Cody. He then looked around, suddenly realizing something that had apparently escaped their notice. "Where's Sonic?" he asked.

***********************************

The dusty air of the Great Unknown blew around Sonic as he sped as fast as he could away from the Great Forest, Leviathan's massive form being dragged along the ground behind him. He had been keeping track of the time in his head from the moment he had left, making sure he wouldn't be holding onto Leviathan when he self destructed and opened the rift between dimensions. Sonic shook his head as he ran, the memory of his short time inside the Void and his run in with the wizard Ixis Naugus a couple of years ago still fresh in his mind. _You just _had_ to ramp it up, didn't you Leviathan?_ was all Sonic could think of as he kept running.

Spotting a rather large hole in the ground up ahead, Sonic pushed his speed even more, hoping the energy from the Power Ring would last just a little longer. As he came upon the hole, he threw on the brakes, letting go of Leviathan's tail at the same time as the last of the Power Ring's power left him. The momentum from his speed caused the mecha bot to go flying into the hole. But before Leviathan was even completely below the cliff line, his body exploded outwards as the countdown timer finally reached zero, spraying shrapnel everywhere. But most of the flying debris was quickly flung back towards the source of the explosion as the dimensional barrier gave way to the Void, the gravity created by the portal sucking in the shrapnel.

"Oh man!" cried Sonic as the gravity began to pull him in as well. Turning around quickly, he started to try and escape its pull as he had the first time he had been subjected to this phenomenon. But unlike last time, he didn't have a head start against its pull. To someone viewing him from a distance, it would appear he was just running in place. "This is not good!" he cried as he strained to get some kind of leverage to escape. But just as Leviathan had said, the hole began to steadily grow larger, its gravitational force growing along with it. Slowly Sonic began to lose ground to the portal as nearby boulders began to come under the gravity's spell, the rocks sliding along the ground towards the hole.

"No way am I giving up without a fight," said Sonic to himself as he poured on even more speed. He slowly began to work himself free of the gravity, but before he could escape it completely, the rapidly expanding hole once again got a good grip on him, stopping his forward momentum. "No way!" he cried, looking back over his shoulder to see the portal had nearly doubled in size already from its starting size. He could already feel himself start to be pulled into the dimensional tear. As he started to lose ground again, he wished he hadn't used up all the Super Emerald miniatures' power back in Angel's timeline.

Sonic's head suddenly snapped upright as he realized that they still had kept a very faint glow even after his hyper form had come undone, which meant there was still a small bit of power left in them. He just hoped it was enough. He then reached down and practically yanked the invisible belt off himself, the belt and miniature emeralds becoming visible again. He then looked back over his shoulder, the portal creeping closer and closer with each passing second. _I hope Knux doesn't chew me up too much for what I'm about to do,_ he thought to himself. He then chucked the emerald belt into the air, the gravity from the Void portal quickly pulling it towards the epicenter.

As the emerald belt made contact with the portal, a loud crack like that of thunder issued forth from portal, lightning arcing out of it as the Super Emerald miniatures' power began to negate the Void energy. Then an even louder crack sounded as the portal collapsed in on itself, its gravitational field imploding in on itself as the rift vanished, throwing Sonic forward from his running momentum, the hedgehog taking a dive head first into the dusty arid ground.

"Oh man…I'm gonna feel that tomorrow," was all he said as he sat upright, rubbing his sore forehead. He then looked back towards where the portal had been. _Good thing that worked. If it hadn't, that would've been it for all of us,_ he thought to himself. He then dusted himself off before turning towards the direction he had come from. But just before taking off, he glanced back over his shoulder as a nagging feeling went through his head. It was then he realized where he was. It was the exact spot where Naugus had opened the portal in the future.

"Heh. Guess this was supposed to happen. I'll never understand time travel," was all he said before taking off to meet up with the others, unaware that the whole event that had just transpired had been monitored.

*************************************

"Sir, I think you might want to take a look at this," said Snively as he watched the video feed coming in from one of Robotnik's many satellites. He looked over his shoulder as the heavy set doctor looked up from his current project.

"This had better be important, Snively," he said with annoyance. The short human gulped as he brought up the video feed on the main monitor of the Command Center's control room.

"I'm sure it is sir," he answered. He then rewound the tape to just a few seconds before a speck of blue appeared on the screen, something metallic being dragged along behind it.

"Is that Sonic?" asked Robotnik, watching the blue blur head towards a rather large hole in the ground.

"I believe it is sir, but that's not why I called you," said Snively. He then brought up the video to just before the metallic object Sonic was carrying exploded. But that wasn't what sent a chill down the doctor's spine. It was what the explosion had spawned that was worrying him. The Void had been opened by whatever that object had been.

"How did he do that Snively? I am the only one with knowledge on how to open the Void. The hedgehog shouldn't even know of its existence, yet there he is using some kind of bomb to open it!" he shouted, making Snively cower in fear of his uncle.

"Sir, do you think he's working with Naugus somehow?" asked Snively. Robotnik's only response was him starting to sweat. If what his nephew had suggested were true, then the Freedom Fighters having access to Void technology would be the least of his worries. But as he watched the rest of the video feed, he realized that helping the wizard out wasn't on Sonic's mind, especially once he did something that caused the portal to collapse in on itself. Otherwise he'd have dived right in to retrieve him.

"I don't believe so," he answered, calming back down. "But still, I want to know how they came to have such technology."

"But sir, the object was consumed by both the explosion and the resulting Void portal," said Snively.

"I doubt that," said Robotnik as he turned to walk back to his project. "Go to those coordinates with a security detail. Scour the area for any signs of debris left behind. Even recovering a tiny microchip will be enough to figure out what kind of technology the Freedom Fighters have at their disposal."

"Of course, sir. I'll get right on it," said Snively as he turned and walked out of the control room. Robotnik sighed as he looked back down at his project, picking up one of the various tools strung about on the table next to him and began to work on the metallic form laying across the table. Nearly three hours passed before an incoming transmission broke him from his task, the doctor getting up and answering the call.

"Report Snively," he said. The short human actually seemed somewhat excited, which was unusual for him.

"We finished our scan of the area. As I feared, most of the debris was beyond recovering. However, we did find what appears to be some kind of damaged AI chip wedged between two large rocks. Sir, I believe whatever it was the hedgehog used to open the Void was not of this world. The technology behind whatever this chip was inside of is more advanced than even your best works," he answered. Robotnik smiled slightly.

"Good. Bring it in to me. With any luck, I can reverse engineer what I need from it to finally finish this little project of mine," said with glee. Snively gave Robotnik a nod before cutting the transmission. Robotnik then turned his attention to the form that lay across the table. Its metallic armor gleamed in the light of the room. "Soon, Silver Sonic, I will finally be able to unleash you upon that accursed hedgehog. And when that time comes, it shall be the last time I will ever have to worry about that hedgehog again!"


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

It had been less than a couple of days since Sonic and the others had left for Little Planet, but it seemed like an eternity for Sally as she walked amongst the other villagers in the main residential area of Knothole. Sometimes she envied Sonic, his carefree lifestyle far and away removed from her own that required her to be a leader and a strong foundation for the village and its people. Other times she hated that he was as headstrong as he was. There had been more times than she could remember that his attitude had gotten not only himself, but others placed in severe danger. But for now, she could only worry about the blue hedgehog and her other friends that had set out to stop this new threat. She was so distracted by her own worrying that she didn't even notice that Lily had come up alongside her at some point during her walk.

"You okay?" she heard the magenta hedgehog ask, nearly scaring the ground squirrel half to death.

"Yeah, I'm just worried about Sonic and the others, that's all," she said, looking over at her friend as they continued walking along the path towards the Power Ring pool. Like Sonic, Sally found scenery around the pool to be relaxing on one's mind. "Sometimes I wish he didn't rush headlong into all the little adventures he goes on, you know?"

"I suppose," said Lily as they entered the clearing. She then smiled slightly before giggling a little.

"What's so funny?" asked Sally curiously as Lily composed herself.

"I guess it just tickles me that Cody's gotten a wild hair from being around Sonic so long. I mean, two years ago I doubt he'd have so much as hurt a fly and now here he is, fighting alongside of everyone else here like he's been here his whole life," she answered. Sally couldn't help but chuckle a little as well at that thought as she reached down and picked up a flat rock. She folded it over in her hand a few times before winding up and tossing it sideways. But as soon as she had let go of the rock, a brilliant flash of white light exploded over the top of the Power Ring pool, the two girls having to hold up their arms to block the blinding light. Almost instantly after that, several loud thud noises could be heard coming from both sides of the pool, followed by a splash and a very small thud followed by a very loud exclamation.

"Ouch!" shouted a familiar voice from the middle of the pool. Then, as quickly as the light had appeared, it vanished, leaving the two girls with quite a scene to behold. Slasher and Saber were lying on their sides off to the left of the pool, having missed the water completely. In a fairly shallow area of the pool, a very wet and annoyed blue hedgehog was rubbing the fresh bump on his head from the rock that had struck him square in the forehead. Drake was also in the pool, though he seemed to be in hysterics at what had happened to Sonic. But the sight that greeted the two girls on the left side of the small pond made them both gasp.

"Who is that?" asked Lily, eyeing the pink furred mobian girl that Cody was now carrying in his arms.

"Long story, but not now," said Cody as he began to run back towards the village. Sonic quickly jumped out of pool and shook as much water off himself as he could before running up next to Cody, taking the girl into his own arms before blasting off into the village towards the medical hut. As Cody watched as Sonic faded from his sight, both of the girls ran up to him.

"What's going on?" asked Sally. By now, both of the raptors were back on their feet.

"A friend we picked up while on our little time adventure," said Slasher as she and Saber got back to their feet.

"Why was she unconscious?" asked Lily, looking over at Cody.

"She lost a lot of blood taking on that vicious robot raptor," he answered. "I just hope that last jump through time didn't screw up her body anymore than it already was."

"I'm sorry to say that she might not make it," said Slasher softly as she came up alongside the three mobians, Saber flanking her on the other side. "When we took her vital signs before departing from the past, they were already greatly weakened from the fight she had endured. No doubt that the time jump caused even more harm to her."

"All we can do now is hope," said Cody as he bowed his head.

************************************

Sonic sped through Knothole as fast as his legs could carry him. Even over the wind, he could head Angel's breathing becoming more and more laborious. He knew that time was everything now as he spotted the medical hut on the end of the pathway he was on. With his target in sight, Sonic poured on the speed even more, setting off a sonic boom.

Inside the medical hut, a middle-aged, white feathered duck was busy putting the last of his files away inside a file cabinet when a loud thunder-like crack went off, scaring him stiff as a mighty gust of wind blew all his files out of the file cabinet and strung them about the hut.

"Sonic! How many times have I told you not to-," was all he got out before he saw that Sonic wasn't alone. "By the heavens of Mobius, what happened to this girl!?" he exclaimed as he motioned for Sonic to follow him into the back of the hut.

"Long story short Dr. Quack, she lost a lot of blood and is barely hanging on," answered Sonic as the duck directed Sonic to place Angel on one of the beds.

"How? I don't see any wounds that could have done such a thing," he said as he hastily put on a pair of rubber gloves and began to prepare an IV.

"Not the time to ask doc, I'm just telling you what I know," answered Sonic.

"If it is blood loss, then I'm afraid there's little I can do," said Dr. Quack as he started Angel's IV. Her breath was coming in short gasps now, causing Sonic to start sweating.

"Why's that?" Sonic asked, his look of desperation obvious as the doctor continued to do what he could.

"She is an echidna, isn't she?" asked Dr. Quack as he placed an oxygen mask over Angel's muzzle in an attempt to settle her breathing somewhat.

"Yeah, so what?" asked Sonic.

"In order for her body to accept a blood transfusion, it would have to come from another echidna, which for obvious reasons we don't have," he answered. Before the doctor could say anything else, another gust of wind blew through the medical hut as Sonic took off in a flash.

***********************************

_Ah! It's days like today that make being the Guardian worth it,_ thought Knuckles as he leaned back against one of the giant mushrooms that covered quite a bit of the forest area of the Floating Island. He loved relaxing in the forest. To him it was one of the more secluded and comfortable spots on the whole island. Thick tree lines for shade, plenty of soothing aromas from the many flowering plants that were all over the forest floor, and not a soul around to bother him.

"Knuckles!" shouted a familiar voice way off in the distance. The red echidna opened one eye in the direction of the voice, but decided against calling back. Now was not the time he wanted to deal with something Sonic wanted. "Hey Knuckle-head, I know you're up here!" shouted the voice, this time from somewhere off to his left side instead of in front of him like last time. Sighing, he reluctantly got to his feet. He knew he shouldn't have told Sally where to find him if they needed him for whatever reason that day.

"Over here!" hollered Knuckles. In what seemed like a split second, he was quickly plucked from his spot by the arm as Sonic started dragging him like a rag doll back towards the teleporter he'd used to get there. "Hey! Let go right now!" shouted Knuckles as he tried to squirm his arm free of the hedgehog's grasp. But Sonic's grip was undaunted by the echidna's struggles, and only after he couldn't wrestle himself free did Knuckles notice how hard Sonic was grasping his arm.

"Sorry pal, but we don't have any time to waste," was all Sonic said before he spotted the teleporter amidst a bunch of flowering bushes.

*************************************

Run away…That's the only thought that went through Angel's mind as she looked back over her shoulder, wondering when and where the strike would come from. Maybe if she ran fast enough, the thing that was chasing after her would grow tired and quit. But she quickly gave up that hope. The thing that was now stalking her through the thick jungle would never tire or give up. A loud screeching sound from behind her only made her hasten her escape, running through the jungle underbrush as fast as her legs would carry her.

"You can't escape from me," hissed a deep, fluid male voice. Angel tried to determine where the voice had come from, but it seemed as if it emanated from all around her. Pushing her fear as far back in her mind as she could, she pressed onward. As she finally entered a large clearing, she came to an abrupt halt. Dozens of huts now stood before her, each one ablaze. Yet the fire didn't seem to consume the huts at all, but rather continue to burn in almost a pattern of sorts. Suddenly, the air was pierced by a cry that she herself would never forget. In the clearing of the huts, she watched as her eight year old self ran screaming at the top of her lungs as she swung her sword at a shadowy Metal Sonic.

"Don't do it! Get out of there!" yelled Angel to her younger self. But the child paid no attention to her older self as she followed through with the blow, the sword being caught in mid-swing by the mecha bot. But unlike the metallic clang the older Angel had expected to hear, the sickening sound of the weapon slicing into flesh could be heard. Then the blow she expected the figure to do came, knocking the younger echidna to the ground. Metal Sonic then dropped the sword and started to approach the older Angel.

But as he came closer, his features started to warp. Slowly his body grew much larger, his chest cavity filling out with an orange hued color flesh. His head started morph into more of a reptilian like quality, his red eyes becoming almost cat-like in appearance as silver metal flowed down from the tip of his nose to the tip of the tail that was now growing out of the monster's back. His feet were also changing from looking sneaker-like to more of a clawed, lizard-like quality.

"It doesn't matter what you do or what you say," hissed the voice again from all around her. The fear that Angel had kept to the back of her mind rushed to the forefront once more, the echidna girl backing away from the monstrosity that was now calmly walking towards her. "You can't run away from your destiny."

"I choose my own destiny!" shouted Angel as she continued to back away. So intent was she on backing up that she didn't realize her back was to a hut till she ran into it. As she stood there frozen in fear, the monster continued to walk slowly towards her, its warped body becoming more and more cohesive.

"But I'm afraid you already chose your own destiny," said the voice softly, almost eerily. Angel shook her head slowly as she stared wide eyed at the beast before her.

"No…That's not true! I never chose a destiny for myself!" she screamed at the shadowy figure that now towered over her small form.

"Ah, but you did all those years ago. You made the choice yourself when you were only nine years old," replied the voice. Angel then noticed that she seemed shorter than before. A quick once over revealed to her that she had regressed in age back to her self as a nine year old.

"W-what are you t-talking about? What ch-choice!?" she shakily yelled at the figure as she ducked down into a fetal position. By now, the beast was now standing right over her, its red eyes casting their glow down at her as the raging fires continued to burn all around her, glinting off the silvery armor that the beast wore.

"The choice…to be forever under my control!" cried the voice as its head lunged forward, its gaping maw ready to devour the small girl.

*********************************

Angel let out a loud gasp as she shot upright into a sitting position, sweat dripping down her brow as she tried to piece together what was going on. A quick glance around told her that she wasn't outside anymore, but aside from that the room she was in was foreign to her and was therefore unsettling to her. It was then that she noticed that she had an IV hooked into her left arm and she was dressed in a simple gown, lying atop a fairly comfortable bed.

"Ah good, you're finally awake," said a voice from the doorway. She turned her head to see Dr. Quack standing there, a clipboard in hand as he walked up to the end of the bed.

"Who are you and what am I doing here?" asked Angel, still a little off-put by what was going on.

"Fair questions I suppose," mused the doctor as he looked over her chart. "You are in the medical hut of Knothole and as for why you are here…Well let me put it to you this way. I've never seen someone come in here before with such a low blood pressure and be this active after the first twelve hours of a blood transfusion."

"Blood transfusion?" she asked. Then the memories of the fight against Leviathan came back, including right before she passed out seeing Sonic checking on the past version of Tails. "Is everyone alright?"

"If you are referring to Sonic and the others that made the trip through time with you, then yes, they are all doing fine," he answered. As soon as he finished answering her, Angel started to remove the IV from her arm. "Hey hey hey, just where do you think you're going?" he asked.

"I'm getting out of this bed, do you have a problem with that?" she asked him with a bit of authority behind her voice.

"Oh no you don't," said Dr. Quack as he put the IV back into place. "You're not leaving this bed till I can be sure you're healthy enough to be up and about." At this, Angel noticed a fruit bowl sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. Picking an apple out of the bowl, she turned and looked at the white feathered duck with sly smile.

"Okay then. I'll prove I'm healthy enough to get out of this bed," she said. The doctor gave her a look of annoyance as she started to squeeze the apple. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then all of a sudden the apple gave way to Angel's strength as she crushed the apple in the palm of her hand, pieces of fruit and juice flying all over the room. "Think I'm not healthy enough now?" she asked, amused by the look of disbelief on the doctor's face.

*********************************

"Oh come on, Knux! It's not like I had much choice in the matter," yelled Sonic as he stood up from a chair inside his own hut. Sonic had waited till Angel was in stable condition before he called Knuckles into his hut to tell him what had happened with the Super Emerald miniatures. Sally was there as well, though mainly to make sure the two of them didn't beat the tar out of each other.

"But those emeralds were _my_ responsibility! I entrusted them to you because I thought you'd be the one person that wouldn't up and do something stupid with them!" yelled Knuckles back at Sonic.

"So saving the whole planet from being sucked into the Void was a stupid way to lose those emeralds? Is that what I'm hearing?" asked Sonic angrily.

"But you didn't even try to come up with some other way to close that portal before you just up and chucked them into that dimensional rift, did you?" retorted Knuckles.

"Like I had the time to think up something else!" yelled Sonic.

"Both of you, shut up!" yelled Sally, finally losing her patience with the two mobians.

"But he started it!" shouted Sonic as he pointed his finger at Knuckles.

"Don't point fingers at me! I'm not the one that lost not one, not two, but all seven of one of the most powerful things on this planet!" screamed Knuckles. Sally was about to say something when Knuckles cut her off with a physical gesture. He then closed his eyes tightly for a sec, trying to calm back himself back down. But Sonic was determined to get in the last blow.

"Well, I did give you back those three shards of the Master Emerald that we recovered from Leviathan, didn't I? And at least I didn't practically gift wrap the Master Emerald for Robotnik like you did last year," he huffed. At that, Knuckles eyes shot open and he pulled back his fist, lunging at Sonic for all he was worth. Only his fast reflexes saved Sonic from having a hole in his head like the wall behind him now had from Knuckles' fist.

"How dare you use that incident to attack me…" whispered Knuckles angrily before he turned around and started walking out of the hut. "Forget all of you. You can take your little rebellion and shove it!" And with that, he departed from Sonic's hut.

"Good riddance," spat Sonic as he sat back down. He glanced over at Sally to see her face filled with her own anger. "What?" he asked.

"You know darn well and good the sacrifices he makes to watch that island and the Master Emerald. The blow you gave was a low and dirty one Sonic," she said with disgust. Sonic wanted to argue his point, but after a few seconds of thinking about it, he realized he had no real retort to what Sally had said.

"Fine…I'll go get him," he said with a sigh as he got up and raced out of his hut, chasing down Knuckles who was about to use the teleporter they had planted near the Power Ring pool. "Hey Knux, wait a second." Knuckles looked over his shoulder, giving Sonic a glare that could kill. _Whoa…I really _did_ hit a hot button with him,_ though Sonic as he grimaced at the stare he was receiving.

"I never want to see your sorry face ever again, Sonic Hedgehog," spat Knuckles as he fired up the teleporter.

"Well…at least stay till Angel's better. You are our only source of echidna blood and what happens if she needs another transfusion?" he asked. Knuckles was about to touch the orb that would start the teleportation process, but at the mention of the echidna girl, he pulled back. He then turned towards Sonic.

"Very well…I'll stay till she is back on her feet, but once she's out of danger, I'm gone," he said as softly as his anger would let him.

"Fine," answered Sonic. The sound of footsteps behind him made Sonic look over his shoulder to see something he never expected to see. Angel was running down the path, her old clothes back on her person as she came towards him. But as soon as she caught sight of Knuckles she came to a stop and dropped to her knees. At this, Sonic looked back at Knuckles who merely slapped his forehead and groaned.

"Oh Great Guardian, I am humbled to be in your presence," she said as she bowed.

"Oh for crying out loud," mused Knuckles as he walked over to Angel and stood in front of her with crossed arms. "Please don't do that." Angel immediately obeyed the request and stood back up.

"Guardian, I am most unfit to be seen by your side with these old rags," she said, still bowing her head. Knuckles suddenly heard a noise from behind him, looking back to see Sonic trying real hard not to laugh. Knuckles just groaned again before turning back to Angel.

"Please don't call me by my title. I hate being called by my title," he said.

"I am sorry, Knuckles," she said as she continued to bow her head. He then sighed, rolling his eyes.

"And do stop with the bowing. Just treat me as you would any other echidna," he said.

"Again, I am sorry," she said as she raised her head back to eye level with Knuckles.

"Man Knux. Are you like some kind of royalty or something to your people?" asked Sonic. Knuckles just gave him another glare before returning his attention to Angel.

"I want to thank you for donating your own sacred blood to save my meaningless life," said Angel softly. Knuckles just threw up his arms in annoyance.

"Okay, enough of that. No more being sorry, no more bowing your head, no more titles. Just treat me as you would Sonic, okay?" he said. Angel nodded, a smile on her face.

"As you wish," she said before turning and walking back up the path.

"What was that all about?" asked Sonic as he watched the pink furred echidna walk back up the hill towards the residential huts. Knuckles just sighed.

"Long story short, my blood line is considered…'blessed' by our people. As such I've had similar dealings with this in the past," said Knuckles.

"You have?" asked Sonic, looking at Knuckles with a newfound curiosity about him.

"Once or twice when I was allowed by my father to accompany him on trips to our last remaining village. I always hated it as a kid, and still do now," he said.

"So wait a second, you knew about Angel's village?" asked Sonic, now a little annoyed.

"Of course. I wasn't about to let on that I wasn't the last of my kind alive. I just made that up so that Robotnik wouldn't go looking for the village," said Knuckles.

"So in other words you lied to us?" asked an annoyed Sonic.

"Well, not so much lied as bent the truth," answered Knuckles.

"Okay, I'll let that one slide then," said Sonic as he started walking back up the pathway.

"What do you mean by 'let it slide'?" asked an offended Knuckles.

"As in I forgive you for lying to us," he answered. He then jerked his thumb back at the teleporter behind Knuckles. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" Knuckles only response was to narrow his eyes in anger before walking over and placing both hands on the teleporter orb, the device instantly transporting him back to the receiver orb on the Floating Island.

****************************************

The next day, a badly damaged robot struggled to get into the turbolift of the giant Command Center of Robotropolis. The robot had a huge gash running down the top of his red head to about the point where his silver nose jutted out. Sparks were still randomly being spewed out of the gash as the turbolift doors closed behind him, his eyes turning their soft neon green light to ground, wondering how he was going to explain what had happened to him. Suddenly, the doors to the turbolift whooshed open, allowing him access to the main control room.

"So…You've returned," said a voice from the command chair as it spun around, revealing the heavy set doctor seated at the controls.

"Yes, master…I have returned…with what little…power I still…have," answered Robo Knuckles as he limped towards the command chair.

"And what of mecha bot five?" asked Robotnik.

"Unknown," answered Robo Knuckles as he came to a stop in front of the chair. "He…betrayed me…and ran off…with the…Timestones. It was…all I could…do to get…back here."

"Well, then I suppose we can assume his efforts at whatever he was trying to do were unsuccessful," said Robotnik as he got up from his chair and walked over next to the broken mecha bot's body. He then swiftly kicked Robo Knuckles hard in the chest, knocking him to the ground. "Consider that retribution for attempting to betray me."

"There is no need to be so tough on him, sir. It is, after all, in our designs to learn from our mistakes," said a new voice from behind the heavily damaged mecha bot.

"That is true, but you've never had any thoughts of betrayal like this one has," said Robotnik as he went back to his chair.

"Of course not, sir," said the voice as its owner walked into the light, his blue armor as shiny as the day he was brought online. "You designed me, built me from scratch yourself. Why should I harbor anything but loyalty to the person who gave me life?"

"And you…call yourself…a mecha bot," spat Robo Knuckles as he turned to look at Metal Sonic, who only smirked at the verbal jab.

"Now now, there's no time for arguing you two. I have a job I wish for the two of you to work on," said Robotnik as he typed several commands into his chair's terminal. Suddenly, an ancient stone tablet appeared on the main screen. The tablet depicted what looked to be a giant sea monster attacking a city. "I have been studying this tablet that I found while on the Floating Island for months on end, slowly deciphering what the hieroglyphics have said."

"What do they say?" asked Metal Sonic, looking over the tablet.

"It tells of a great disaster that befell the ancient echidna clans. The great beast you see pictured on the tablet is a monster that the ancient echidnas called Chaos," said Robotnik.

"So why does…that have…any meaning…to us?" asked Robo Knuckles.

"Because you two are going to take the rest of the Master Emerald shard we have and create a weapon that can equal this Chaos thing in power. You have two months to build this weapon," Robotnik said before looking down at Robo Knuckles. "Well…two months after you're repaired. And I'm putting Metal Sonic in charge of this weapon's development. I don't feel like having a weapon this powerful turn on us again."

"Yes sir. We shall begin immediately," said Metal Sonic as he turned and walked over to the turbolift, Robo Knuckles following close behind as best he could, trying not to let his anger at being put down by Robotnik show through his trashed face.

*********************************

"Are you sure you want to leave? We could always use a skilled warrior such as yourself," said Sally as she stood near the edge of Knothole with Sonic a couple of days later. Slasher and Saber had already taken off, heading for Little Planet to attempt to take the collars off their clan members and to also stay on the small planet to guard the Timestones against being used like they had been again. Now both her and Sonic were there to see off the last new friend they had made over the course of this whole incident.

"And besides, who's gonna take care of Comet when she hatches?" asked Sonic. Angel was still dressed in her original outfit, but one of the ladies in the village had been kind enough to patch up the torn parts where Leviathan's claws had dug into her, but added to the ensemble was a brown cloak, much like the one that the future Cody had been wearing. She also was wearing Sonic's old backpack stung over her scabbard much like Sonic had done at the Stardust Speedway track. The backpack was going away gift that he had insisted she take with her.

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay here. This whole world is still so foreign to me. So much life is still teaming on it that it doesn't even feel like I'm on Mobius anymore. I need to find my purpose in this world," she said. She then sighed. "As for Comet, I feel she'll be safer staying here than traveling along with me. Besides, this is something I need to do alone. She'll understand."

"We'll miss you Angel. Just remember that you always have a home in Knothole," said Sally as she gave the echidna a hug.

"Sal's right, Angel. Anytime you're in the neighborhood, stop by for a visit," said Sonic. Angel smiled as she gave him a nod of her head.

"I promise I will," she said before turning and walking towards the south, leaving the other two mobians behind at Knothole's boarder.

"Think we'll see her again?" asked Sally as Angel continued to walk away from them. Sonic merely smiled at the question.

"I'm sure we will Sal…I'm sure we will," he answered.

**The End**


End file.
